HUMAN-TO-HUMAN TRANSMISSION OF RABIES VIRUS BY CORNEAL TRANSPLANT

PROBABLE transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease by corneal transplantation from an infected donor to a normal recipient has previously been reported,1 but to our knowledge, man-to-man transmission of conventional viruses by corneal transplant has not been described. The following case reports describe the transmission of rabies virus from a donor with the paralytic form of rabies to a normal recipient by corneal transplantation. Case Reports Case 1. A 39-year-old forester-rancher was in excellent health until six days before his first hospital admission, when midlumbar back pain, along with an area of subjective “numbness” over the right lower portion of the chest. © 1979, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.