Characteristics of West Nile encephalitis in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in the period 2021 to 2022

Abstract

Introduction. Neuroinvasive the West Nile virus disease develops in less than 1% of infected individuals, with a mortality rate of approximately 9%. This scientific research aimed to analyze the epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory characteristics, the presence of comorbidities, and the treatment outcome of West Nile encephalitis in 2021 and 2022. Material and Methods. The retrospective study includes 33 patients treated at the Infectious Diseases Clinic of the University Clinical Center of Vojvodina from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022. The diagnosis was confirmed by serological tests and/or real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction of cerebrospinal fluid. Results. The study demonstrated a statistically significant predominance of males (57.6%) over females (42.4%) (?2=4.5; p=0.03).Individuals over the age of 65 accounted for 51.52% of cases, with the remaining 48.48% being within the working-age population. The highest concentration of cases was observed in the Novi Sad (24.2%). Upon admission, elevated body temperature was prevalent 97% of patients (?2 = 8.8; p = 0.03), followed by weakness and malaise in 75.8%, and altered consciousness in 66.7%. Meningeal signs were present in only 48% of patients. Infection was confirmed in all patients through serological analysis of cerebrospinal fluid. A fatal outcome was observed in 31.3% of cases. Conclusion. The results of the research indicate that serological analysis is the most reliable method for diagnosing the neuroinvasive form of infection.