Cataracts Acquired Following Varicella Infection

A 3-year-old boy developed bilateral cataracts at the time of an otherwise unremarkable chickenpox infection. Attempts to demonstrate varicella virus in extracted lens material were inconclusive. Although there is little precedent for postulating a viral etiology for acquired cataracts in human patients, the clinical observations in our patient are suggestive enough of that possibility to encourage a search for other such cases.