Why are young adults having immune system problems now?

https://www.newsmax.com/health/health-news/shingles-varicella-zoster-virus-chicken-pox-ramsay-hunt/2022/06/13/id/1074183/

The Virus Causing Justin Bieber's Facial Paralysis on the Rise in Young Adults

Multi-Grammy award winner Justin Bieber has revealed that he is suffering from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in facial paralysis. Caused by the varicella zoster virus, which causes chicken pox in children and shingles in adults, the syndrome triggers “a shingles outbreak that affects the facial nerve near one of your ears,” according to the Mayo Clinic. In addition to the painful shingles rash, Ramsay Hunt syndrome can cause facial paralysis and hearing loss in the affected ear. Not a pleasant prospect for Bieber, a musician, who is only 28 years old.

According to Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, full recovery is not certain. Treatment includes steroids such as prednisone to reduce inflammation and pain medication. Antiviral medicines that help with the herpes family, such as acyclovir or valacyclovir, may be prescribed.

Bieber assured fans that his condition will improve and that he was doing “facial exercises to get my face back to normal.” According to The Hill, the condition is somewhat similar to Bell’s Palsy, though Ramsay Hunt’s effects are more severe. Patients may also not recover completely, say researchers.

Until now, shingles has been considered a disease that mainly strikes older adults, because the virus that causes it, varicella zoster, has typically emerged from its slumber later in life as the immune system weakens. The virus lays dormant in nerve cells until it is triggered, causing the painful, blistering shingles rash.