Viral aetiology of acute central nervous system infections in children, Iran

Abstract

Introduction. Viral infections are increasingly an important cause of central nervous system (CNS) complications. Hypothesis/Gap Statement. There is no comprehensive insight about CNS infections due to viral agents among Iranian children. Aim. This study aimed to investigate the viral aetiology, clinical and epidemiological profile of children with acute infections of the CNS. Methodology. A prospective study was conducted on children at the referral hospital in Isfahan, Iran, from June 2019 to June 2020. A multiplex PCR assay was used to detect the viral causative agent in cerebrospinal fluid and throat/rectal swab samples. Results. Among 103 patients with eligible criteria, a confirmed or probable viral aetiology was detected in 41 (39.8 %) patients, including enteroviruses – 56.1 %, herpes simplex virus 1/2 (HSV-1/2) – 31.7 %, Epstein-Barr virus – 17.1 %, varicella-zoster virus (VZV) – 9.7 %, influenza A virus (H1N1) –4.9 % and mumps – 2.4 %. There was a higher proportion of PCR-positive samples in infants than in other age groups. Encephalitis and meningoencephalitis were diagnosed in 68.3 % (28/41) and 22 % (9/41) PCR-positive cases, respectively. Conclusion. The findings of this research provide insights into the clinical and viral aetiological patterns of acute CNS infections in Iran, and the importance of molecular methods to identify CNS viruses. HSV and VZV were identified as important causes of encephalitis in young children.