High variability in viral load in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with herpes simplex and varicella-zoster infections of the central nervous system

• Published in: Clinical microbiology and infection Vol. 13; no. 12; pp. 1217 - 1219
• Main Authors: Růžek, D., Piskunova, N., Žampachová, E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2007; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Blackwell
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Central Nervous System Diseases - virology; central nervous system infections; Cerebrospinal fluid; Cerebrospinal Fluid - virology; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Herpes Simplex - virology; herpes simplex virus; Herpes Zoster - virology; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infant; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods; Prognosis; quantitative real-time PCR; varicella-zoster virus; Viral diseases; Viral diseases with cutaneous or mucosal lesions and viral diseases of the eye; Viral Load; herpes simplex virus; varicella-zoster virus; Cerebrospinal fluid; central nervous system infections; quantitative real-time PCR; prognosis; Human; Varicella zoster virus; Skin disease; Nervous system diseases; Herpes zoster; Prognosis; Herpesviridae; Alphaherpesvirinae; Central nervous system; Infection; Virus; Polymerase chain reaction; Microbiological investigation; Viral disease; Varicella; Herpesvirus hominis; Molecular biology; Viral load; Quantitative analysis
• ISSN: 1198-743X; 1469-0691
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-0691.2007.01831.x

Infections of the central nervous system (CNS) caused by herpes viruses can result in severe diseases, often with a fatal outcome. In this study, the viral load in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with herpes simplex or varicella-zoster infections of the CNS was measured using a quantitative real-time PCR. The results suggest a high variability in viral load, with relatively mild disease associated with a high viral load in CSF and vice versa. Determination of the viral load in CSF does not therefore seem to be useful in assessing the prognosis of disease caused by these viruses.