Introduction Although localized weakness and wasting following herpes zoster are well recognized, cases with severe involvement of the spinal cord and brain are uncommon. Death from herpes zoster is even rarer, and Boudin and his colleagues 1 found only seven records of autopsied cases in the literature and added one of their own. Because of the paucity of these cases, we report another autopsied case of zoster encephalomyelitis. Report of Case A bulldozer driver (NHQS No. 88858), aged 51, was admitted to the National Hospital, Queen Square, under the care of Dr. Denis Brinton on Oct 23, 1959. His chief complaint was paralysis of the legs with lack of feeling in the trunk. He had had a partial gastrectomy for a duodenal ulcer ten years before admission; there was no other relevant past history or family history. He had been well until Oct 13, 1959, when he developed a painful