It's not very common and it's not very contagious — but for those who contract shingles, it's very painful. On April 22, an Edmonton woman was taken off her flight home from Halifax due to a shingles rash on her face that flight crews thought may have been contagious. An Edmonton microbiologist said though the woman's shingles weren't contagious, he doesn't blame the airline for reacting the way it did. Shingles contagious through open woundsTetro, author of The Germ Files, said shingles is caused by the chickenpox virus — but the chickenpox virus is much more contagious than shingles. Shingles can be contagious but only if the blisters are open wounds, Tetro said.

Source: CBC News April 27, 2018 23:37 UTC