What disease in adults is caused by the varicella-zoster virus?

The varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is known to cause two distinct illnesses: chickenpox and shingles. In adults, the disease primarily caused by this virus is shingles, also known as herpes zoster. Shingles typically occurs when the varicella-zoster virus reactivates after lying dormant in the nerve tissues following an initial chickenpox infection, which is more common in children.

When VZV is reactivated, it leads to the characteristic painful rash and blisters associated with shingles, often accompanied by other symptoms such as fatigue, fever, and headache. This condition usually affects older adults or those with weakened immune systems. The painful rash typically develops along a single dermatome, which is an area of skin supplied by a single spinal nerve.

While chickenpox is the initial infection caused by VZV, it primarily affects children and presents with a widespread vesicular rash, fever, and malaise. The common cold and measles are caused by entirely different viruses and are unrelated to VZV. Thus, shingles is the adult manifestation of the disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus, differentiating it from the other listed options.