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Brian Vastag

JAMA. 2003;289:2198-2199.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Washington—Two thousand years ago, a blind Saul regained vision when "scales fell from his eyes," according to the Book of Acts.

Today, a similar phenomenon—minus the divine intervention—has affected a handful of civilian and military smallpox vaccinees.

The condition, ocular vaccinia, occurs when a vaccinee "autoinoculates," inadvertently transferring virus from the vaccination site to his or her eye. Such activities as everyday eye rubbing, scratching, and contact lens handling makes ocular vaccinia a potentially common adverse event of smallpox vaccination.

Ocular vaccinia, a potential adverse effect of smallpox vaccination, can occur by inadvertently transferring vaccinia virus from the vaccination site to the eyes. (Photo credit: Arthur E. Kaye/CDC)

"Because [the eye] is a mucosal surface, it doesn't have the same resistance to infection [that] skin does," said Janine Smith, MD, deputy clinical director of the National Eye Institute, Bethesda, Md. "It's like putting it in your mouth. . . . [Full Text of this Article]