Vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis in a patient with acute lymphocytic leukemia

Molecular identification and clinical characteristics of mumps virus and human herpesviruses associated with aseptic meningitis in South of Iran

Viral infections are the major etiological agent of aseptic meningitis; though, limited data exist on the prevalence and molecular epidemiology of viral pathogens responsible for the occurrence of aseptic meningitis in Iran. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the prevalence and clinical features of mumps virus and human herpesviruses associated with aseptic meningitis in the South of Iran. A total of 73 patients with aseptic meningitis were enrolled in this study. Cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) samples were tested for detection of HSV, CMV, VZV and mumps virus using nested PCR assay. Mumps virus, HSV-1 and VZV were found in 4 (5.5%), 4 (5.5%) and 3 (4.1%) of the CSF samples, respectively. The highest rates of mumps virus and HSV infections were observed in infants less than one year, and VZV was more prevalent in patients under 5 years of age. The majority of mumps virus and VZV infections were found among male patients, while HSV was more prevalent among female patients. The highest incidence of aseptic meningitis associated with mumps virus was observed in summer, while HSV and VZV were more prevalent during spring. Headache was the most common symptom in mumps meningitis. About HSV and VZV, the most predominant clinical symptom was fever. The results of this study indicate the importance of molecular assay in the diagnosis of etiological agents of aseptic meningitis. Prompt detection of viral pathogens provides a better chance of managing viral meningitis in health care settings.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13337-021-00718-y.

Molecular epidemiology of enteroviruses and predominance of echovirus 30 in an Iranian population with aseptic meningitis

Human enteroviruses are the most prevalent causes of aseptic meningitis worldwide. However, despite such predominancy, defining the enteroviral etiology of aseptic meningitis remains a diagnostic dilemma for the clinician in Iran. Therefore, this study was conducted to characterize the prevalence and clinical significance of enteroviral aseptic meningitis as well as the predominant enterovirus serotypes among patients with aseptic meningitis in the South of Iran.Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens were obtained from 73 patients with aseptic meningitis (52.1% males and 47.9% females), ages ranging from 1 month to 88 years. Following the extraction of nucleic acid, the detection of enteroviruses was performed by RT-PCR, targeting the 5' untranslated region of the genome, and sequencing. Enteroviruses were found in 46.6% of samples (34/73). The most predominant serotype was echovirus 30, followed by coxsackievirus B5 and poliovirus type 1 Sabin strain. The enterovirus infections were more prevalent among female patients (58.8%) and those below 5 years of age (52.9%). Although enterovirus infections were observed throughout the year, the infections were more prevalent during autumn with fever as the predominant clinical symptom. The outcomes revealed that enteroviruses are significant causes of aseptic meningitis in the South of Iran, while suspected cases of aseptic meningitis are usually monitored by bacterial culture and biochemical testing of CSF samples. Therefore, the etiology remains unknown in most cases. Molecular detection of viral pathogens should be included as a common approach in the screening of patients with aseptic meningitis to prevent unnecessary treatment and to improve clinical management.