Rabies encephaloradiculomyelitis. Case report.

A 50-year-old carpenter died in Western Pennsylvania of rabies on January 4, 1979. He had been hospitalized in an intensive care unit for 28 days. The diagnosis was made postmortem from light and electron microscopic examination of central nervous system tissue. Immunofluorescence studies confirmed the diagnosis later. No animal exposure was confirmed in this case. The clinical and neuropathologic findings of the patient are correlated. The importance of recognizing rabies and the protection of personnel who perform autopsies on these patients is emphasized. In addition, rabies should be considered in the differential diagnosis of radiculomyelitis (Guillain-Barré syndrome) and, in general, in any case of meningoencephalitis.