Like other herpes viruses varicella is an enveloped DNA virus.
Varicella-zoster virus is a type of herpes virus which infect humans also called chickenpox virus, varicella virus, zoster virus, and human herpesvirus type 3 (HHV-3). Its genome is a linear duplex DNA molecule, it multiplies in the lungs and after the primary infection, it goes dormant into neural cells where it can be reactivated and cause neural diseases.