At least one in three Irish people has either never heard of shingles, or knows nothing about the condition, a new survey has found.

Shingles is a viral disease that affects the nerves and surrounding skin. It is caused by the herpes varicella-zoster virus, which also causes chickenpox. Once a person has had chickenpox, the virus lies inactive in their nervous system. If this virus becomes reactivated, it becomes shingles.

Symptoms include a painful, blistering rash on one side of the body.

Some 95% of adults in Ireland have had chickenpox, which means they are at risk of developing shingles. However, the survey found that 48% of adults were not even aware of the link between the two diseases.

The survey was released to coincide with the launch of a new shingles awareness campaign. Currently in Ireland, one in four people can expect to develop shingles, with people over the age of 50 most at risk.

The pain associated with shingles usually ends once the rash has healed, however some people suffer severe, long-term pain called post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). This can last from weeks to years.

"It is interesting that almost half of Irish people don't know the connection between chickenpox and shingles. People may view shingles as just getting chickenpox again but it can be much more serious than the childhood version of the virus.

"Shingles can result in PHN, which for older people especially can lead to prolonged suffering with pain lasting for months after the initial symptoms of shingles have healed," noted Dr Camillus Power, a consultant pain physician at Tallaght Hospital in Dublin.

He called on people, especially older people, to make themselves more informed about the condition and to ask their GP about any concerns they may have.

The campaign has been developed by Sanofi Pasteur MSD and is supported by Age Action and Chronic Pain Ireland. For more information on shingles, click here