Fatal herpes zoster in Burkitt's lymphoma following contact with chicken pox

Burkitt's lymphoma presented atypically in a six-year-old Nigerian girl with back pain, oliguria and facial oedema following a fall at school. Two weeks later, she developed bilateral ptosis, hepatomegaly and ascites. Burkitt's lymphoma cells were found in both ascitic and cerebrospinal fluids. She was successfully treated with intravenous cyclophosphamide and intrathecal methotrexate but later developed fatal herpes zoster at the same time as the resident doctor developed chicken pox. Chart's review showed that she had been in brief contact with chicken pox during a short stay in a transit ward prior to full admission.