I must say I disagree with the Breastfeeding Answer Book if it says the
mother should pump on a breast which has a lesion of shingles.  Shingles
is caused by Varicella-Zoster virus, which is a herpesvirus, but it is
not Herpes Simplex, which causes skin lesions similar to Shingles, but
can cause other serious, central nervous system illness.  If the mother
has shingles, she has high antibody titers, and she had immunity when
she was pregnant, and passed on immunity to the baby.  She continues to
pass on immunity to the baby in her milk.  Chicken pox in a 2 week old
baby who is relatively immune is almost always a very mild illness.

Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC