Human rabies: neuropathological study of thirty cases

Abstract

Thirty autopsies of human rabies encephalitis were carried out and the results of some epidemiological data and neuropathological studies were compared with those previously reported. There was no statistical relation between the topography of the lesions and the site of bite, between the incubation period or disease duration and the presence or absence of viral inclusion bodies (VIB), and between the intensity of the inflammatory process (IP) and the presence of VIB. The dispersion of the IP and of the VIB throughout the CNS was in direct proportion to their intensity. The most frequently affected structure by the IP was the midbrain, followed by the medulla oblongata, pons and spinal cord. The most intensively injured structure was the medulla oblangata. The VIB had striking predominance in the hippocampus and cerebellum.