How can you get the zoster virus?

The zoster virus, also known as the varicella-zoster virus, typically causes chickenpox during initial infection. After recovery, the virus remains dormant in the body's nerve tissues and can reactivate later in life, leading to shingles (herpes zoster). You cannot catch shingles from someone with shingles, but you can contract chickenpox from someone with shingles if you haven't had chickenpox or the vaccine. The virus spreads through direct contact with the fluid from shingles blisters or through respiratory droplets from an infected person.