Emergency: requires immediate attention
Viral encephalitides
Alerts and Notices
Synopsis
There are many different viral etiologies of viral encephalitis. Some viral etiologies are transmitted by insect vectors (eg, West Nile virus), and others are transmitted directly from person to person (eg, enteroviruses, mumps, measles, herpes simplex virus [HSV], HIV). The most common causes of viral encephalitides in the United States are HSV, West Nile virus, and enteroviruses.
The incidence of some viral encephalitides has significantly decreased due to the use of vaccinations (such as for measles and mumps), whereas other etiologies, particularly those impacting immunocompromised hosts, have increased in incidence (such as those due to cytomegalovirus [CMV] and Epstein-Barr virus [EBV]). Arboviral etiologies vary depending on the season and on geography.
Mosquito-borne viral encephalitides include the following.
Alphaviruses of the Togaviridae family such as:
- Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE)
- Western equine encephalitis (WEE)
- Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE)
And members of the Bunyaviridae family: California encephalitis group.
Etiologies of viral encephalitis that can be transmitted from infected animals include the rabies virus.
Etiologies of viral encephalitis that can be transmitted directly from person to person include:
- HSV
- Enteroviruses
- Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) (see varicella, herpes zoster)
- EBV
- CMV
- HIV
- Human herpesvirus 6
- Human herpesvirus 7
- Measles virus
- Mumps virus
- Rubella virus
Patients may also experience other symptoms specific to the viral etiology causing the infection.
The mortality rate of naturally occurring viral encephalitides is greater than 1% overall but may be as high as 20% after progression to severe encephalitis. EEE causes the most severe arbovirus encephalitis and has a high mortality rate.
The incubation period of arboviral encephalitides is typically 1-6 days. Viral reservoirs include horses, bats, birds, rodents, donkeys, mules, and tropical mammals from which the virus is transmitted via mosquitoes to humans and equines. Person-to-person transmission may be possible but has not been proven.
Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) is a cause of severe encephalitis, and cases of transmission via organ transplantation have been observed.
Arboviral encephalitides are endemic to tropical regions of Central and South America, especially in rural areas. Eastern equine, Western equine, St. Louis, and West Nile virus encephalitis are all endemic in North America. Pathogens such as HSV, VZV, and HIV are ubiquitous worldwide.
Veterinarians, laboratory workers, tourists, military personnel, ranch workers, horseback riders, and residents of tropical areas are at higher risk for contracting arboviral encephalitides. Children are more susceptible to moderate or severe forms of the disease.
Related topics: encephalitis
Codes
ICD10CM:G05.3 – Encephalitis and encephalomyelitis in diseases classified elsewhere
SNOMEDCT:
34476008 – Viral encephalitis
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Diagnostic Pearls
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Differential Diagnosis & Pitfalls
- Viral encephalitides are often misdiagnosed as influenza in patients who have recently traveled in endemic areas. Dengue fever and malaria may present in a similar fashion and are also endemic to tropical areas.
- Yellow fever
- Bacterial and viral meningitis
- Brain abscess
- Subdural empyema
- Embolic encephalitis due to bacterial endocarditis
- Lyme disease
- Tuberculous meningitis
- Fungal meningitis
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever
- Cat-scratch disease
- Toxoplasmosis in the immunocompromised patient
- Typhoid and paratyphoid fevers
- Typhus (endemic and epidemic)
- Lupus cerebritis
- Cerebral vasculitis
- Lymphomatous cerebritis
- Nipah virus
- Kyasanur Forest disease
- Other etiologies of acute encephalitis (eg, NMDAR-antibody encephalitis)
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Last Reviewed:01/20/2020
Last Updated:01/26/2020
Last Updated:01/26/2020