Herpes Simplex Virus and Tuberculosis-Associated Encephalitis in Northeast of Iran

• Published in: Jundishapur journal of microbiology Vol. In Press; no. In Press; pp. 1 - 5
• Main Authors: Miri, Raheleh, Ahmadi Ghezeldasht, Sanaz, Mohamadinezhad, Vajiheh, Mosavat, Arman, Shamsian, Seyed Aliakbar, Sabet, Faezeh, Rezaee, Seyed Abdolrahim, Sasannejad, Payam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ahvaz Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences 01.02.2019
• Subjects: Cerebrospinal fluid; Cytomegalovirus; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Developing countries; DNA; Encephalitis; Epidemiology; Fever; Genetic testing; Herpes simplex; Herpes viruses; Hospitals; Infections; Infectious diseases; Laboratories; LDCs; Meningitis; Morbidity; Mortality; Nervous system; Pathogens; Polymerase chain reaction; Researchers; Studies; Tuberculosis; Viral infections; Iran
• ISSN: 2008-3645; 2008-4161
• DOI: 10.5812/jjm.83452

Background: Encephalitis is associated with high rates of mortality and morbidity; however, its pathophysiology is yet to be determined.Objectives: A prospective cohort study of patients with clinically diagnosed encephalitis was performed to investigate herpes simplex virus (HSV) or tuberculosis infection in encephalitis patients.Methods: Overall, 114 patients were enrolled according to clinical profile and were tested for the presence of HSV-1 and 2 or tuberculosis using TaqMan real-time PCR method on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).Results: Thirty patients were clinically diagnosed with HSV infection, whose CSF samples were sent for HSV qRT-PCR test. The results showed that 10 (33.3%) subjects were HSV-1 or 2-positive. Out of 84 patients who were tested for tuberculosis encephalitis, and tuberculosis qRT-PCR was carried out on their CSF, 3 (3.6%) cases were positive. No significant differences were found in gender and age between HSV or tuberculosis-negative and positive groups. The main symptoms in HSV positive subjects were fever and depressed level of consciousness. No cases of tuberculosis infection were diagnosed in direct CSF smear test.Conclusions: Since infectious encephalitis is a life-threatening problem and tuberculosis and HSV are progressing in the developing countries, health authorities, physicians and researchers should address this problem more seriously.