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)
Chikungunya virus , Dengue Virus , Nervous System Diseases/virology , Zika Virus , Acute Disease , Chikungunya virus/genetics , Chikungunya virus/immunology , Dengue Virus/genetics , Dengue Virus/immunology , Encephalitis/diagnosis , Encephalitis/virology , Encephalomyelitis, Acute Disseminated/diagnosis , Encephalomyelitis, Acute Disseminated/virology , Enzyme-Linked Immunospot Assay , Guillain-Barre Syndrome/diagnosis , Guillain-Barre Syndrome/virology , Humans , Myelitis, Transverse/diagnosis , Myelitis, Transverse/virology , Nervous System Diseases/diagnosis , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Zika Virus/genetics , Zika Virus/immunologyABSTRACT
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.