OLDER people in Redditch and Bromsgrove are being encouraged to get the shingles vaccine to help prevent the painful infection.

The vaccine is being offered to people who were 70 on September 1, 2015 while people aged 78 can also get vaccinated.

Shingles is caused by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, better known as chickenpox, which is commonly caught in childhood.

After a person has had chickenpox, the virus can lie dormant in the nervous tissue but may reappear as shingles.

An episode of shingles typically lasts around two to four weeks. The main symptoms are pain, followed by a rash. It is possible to have shingles more than once.

Those who were eligible for immunisation in the first two years of the programme but have not yet been vaccinated against shingles remain eligible until their 80th birthday.

These are people aged 71, 72 or 79 on September 1, 2015.

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at Public Health England, said: “It’s worth taking the time and effort to visit your doctor to get the shingles vaccine as it protects you against a painful condition. You only need to be vaccinated once and it’s important that you get it while you’re the right age.

“We offer the shingles vaccine routinely to individuals at the age of 70 years to boost their immunity to prevent the development of shingles and significantly reduce the incidence of post herpetic neuralgia – persistent nerve pain that can occur at the site of a previous attack of shingles.

“Since the introduction of the shingles vaccine there has been a considerable reduction in the number of cases of this debilitating and painful condition.”