Evidence is accumulating that chickenpox is affecting older patients, and a racial difference in reactivation of the virus causing herpes zoster has emerged. There are several novel compounds with clinical utility in the treatment of herpes zoster, and others that are under development to treat potentially resistant viruses. The range of cutaneous lesions associated with human papillomaviruses is expanding, and evidence is accumulating regarding their role in cutaneous malignancies. A new herpesvirus has been postulated as the long-sought aetiological agent of Kaposi's sarcoma.