Korean J Dermatol.
2002 Dec;40(12):1534-1537.
A Case of Rabies Diagnosis by Skin Biopsy Including Hair Follicles on the Posterior Neck
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Dermatology, Neurology, College of Medicine Hallym University, Chuncheon, Korea. dercc@www.hallym.or.kr
Abstract
- Rabies is a fatal infection of the central nervous system acquired most often through a virus transmitted in saliva by a rabid animal. It is important to rapidly and accurately identify the rabies virus so that appropriate rabies preventive measures can be initiated to the general population. However, the diagnosis of clinical rabies is difficult and is often not made until after death of the patient. Early in the course of illness, the most reliable diagnostic test is a nuchal skin biopsy including hair follicles with fluorescent antibody staining or with PCR. We report a case of rabies diagnosis with hair follicle from a patient suspected of having the infection. It is the first case reported in Korea that the diagnosis of rabies was made on a skin biopsy.
