ABSTRACT
This study showed that laboratory markers of recent infection by dengue, Zika or chikungunya arboviruses were detected in the biological samples of approximately one-third of patients with encephalitis, myelitis, encephalomyelitis or Guillain-Barré syndrome, in a surveillance programme in Piauí state, Brazil, between 2015-2016. Fever and myalgia had been associated with these cases. Since in non-tropical countries most infections or parainfectious diseases associated with the nervous system are attributed to herpesviruses, enteroviruses, and Campylobacter jejuni, the present findings indicate that in tropical countries, arboviruses may now play a more important role and reinforce the need for their surveillance and systematic investigation in the tropics.
Subject(s)
Humans , Chikungunya virus/genetics , Chikungunya virus/immunology , Dengue Virus/genetics , Dengue Virus/immunology , Zika Virus/genetics , Zika Virus/immunology , Acute Disease , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Guillain-Barre Syndrome/diagnosis , Guillain-Barre Syndrome/virology , Encephalitis/diagnosis , Encephalitis/virology , Encephalomyelitis, Acute Disseminated/diagnosis , Encephalomyelitis, Acute Disseminated/virology , Enzyme-Linked Immunospot Assay , Myelitis, Transverse/diagnosis , Myelitis, Transverse/virology , Nervous System Diseases/diagnosis , Nervous System Diseases/virologyABSTRACT
Transverse myelitis is a group of disorders characterized by focal inflammation of the spinal cord and results in loss of motor and sensory function below the level of injury. Occurrence of this condition during or following varicella infection is uncommon. This report describes two cases of transverse myelitis caused by varicella zoster.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Chickenpox/complications , Myelitis, Transverse/virology , Acute Disease , Amines/therapeutic use , Amitriptyline/therapeutic use , Analgesics, Non-Narcotic/therapeutic use , Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids/therapeutic use , Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use , Methylprednisolone/therapeutic use , Myelitis, Transverse/drug therapy , gamma-Aminobutyric Acid/therapeutic useABSTRACT
Oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) developed by A. Sabin has been effectively used to control poliomyelitis in Brazil, and the last case with the isolation of a wild poliovirus strain occourred in March 1989. Although the vaccine controlled the circulation ...