ABSTRACT

Purpose

To report two cases of herpes simplex virus keratitis reactivation following Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 (BNT162b2) mRNA vaccination.

Methods

Two patients (one male, age 42 years, and one female, age 29 years) who are known to have herpetic keratitis presented to our emergency room in a time frame between 4 days and 4 weeks of receiving the vaccine. One patient presented with necrotizing stromal keratitis; the other presented with endotheliitis and epithelial keratitis. PCR for herpes simplex virus (HSV) was obtained from the two patients, and all cases received systemic acyclovir.

Results

PCR for HSV came positive in both cases. Patients responded well to the provided treatment.

Conclusion

Ocular herpetic infection may be activated by COVID-19 (BNT162b2) mRNA vaccine. Treating physician should be alert to such associations, and patients should be followed closely. No direct causality has been proven, but further reporting and investigating similar conditions is recommended.

中文翻译：

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SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 mRNA疫苗接种后单纯疱疹病毒角膜炎再激活：附两例报告

摘要

目的

报告辉瑞-BioNTech COVID-19 (BNT162b2) mRNA 疫苗接种后两例单纯疱疹病毒角膜炎再激活病例。

方法

两名已知患有疱疹性角膜炎的患者（一名男性，42 岁，一名女性，29 岁）在接种疫苗后 4 天到 4 周的时间内到我们的急诊室就诊。一名患者出现坏死性间质角膜炎；另一种表现为内皮炎和上皮性角膜炎。对两名患者进行单纯疱疹病毒 (HSV) 的 PCR，所有病例均接受了全身性阿昔洛韦治疗。

结果

在这两种情况下，HSV 的 PCR 均呈阳性。患者对所提供的治疗反应良好。

结论

COVID-19 (BNT162b2) mRNA 疫苗可能会激活眼部疱疹感染。主治医师应对此类关联保持警惕，并密切关注患者。没有直接的因果关系被证明，但建议进一步报告和调查类似的情况。