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Illnesses

Chicken Pox

Chicken Pox
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.22

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    antiviral, aspirin, calamine, coma, delirium, flu-like, incubation, individually, lesion, multiplies, papule, playgroups, pustule, uncooked, varicella-zoster, long-term
     content words:    American Academy

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Chicken Pox
By Jennifer Kenny 		  
1     Polly was sleepy and cranky. She didn't feel well. She began running a fever. She felt this way for two days, almost as if she had the flu. Then a red, bumpy rash developed and became very itchy. She had around 150 blisters. What was wrong? This combination of an itchy rash with flu-like symptoms must mean the chicken pox.
 
2     Chicken pox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, or VZV. It is much more common among children than adults. Four million children a year suffer from chicken pox. Ninety percent of them are under age 15. It can be much more serious if an adult comes down with chicken pox.
 
3     A virus is not alive until it is in a living cell. Once in a living cell, it can reproduce. The living cell is the host. The virus attacks the cell, sends its own DNA and RNA code, and can then spread.

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