Infectious Causes of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome in India: Decadal Change and the Way Forward

Indian Pediatr. 2023 May 30:S097475591600546. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe diagnosis and management of encephalitis were largely based on clinical grounds and minimal laboratory investigations. Japanese encephalitis (JE) was considered as the probable diagnosis in most encephalitis cases. However, reports of JE in adults and the elderly are increasing after the JE vaccine introduction among children in 2006. The Nipah virus (NiV) emerged in 2002 and continues to afflict humans in new geographic areas. Many other infections cause encephalitis, including Chandipura, chikungunya, dengue, and West Nile. Significant advances in diagnostic testing like multiplex testing panels and metagenomic approaches along with sequencing have helped in the detection of new etiologies. Recent years have witnessed an increase in climate-sensitive zoonotic diseases with encephalitis. This highlights the importance of the One Health approach in studying the impact of climate change-associated infectious diseases on human health. The government of India's efforts to develop health research infrastructure would help future responses to emerging infectious disease epidemics.PMID:37260063

Source: Indian Pediatrics - June 1, 2023 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Babasaheb V Tandale Rahul Narang G Vijay Kumar Manish Jain Shilpa J Tomar Pravin S Deshmukh Source Type: research