Enteroviral Central Nervous System Infections in Children of the Region of Monastir, Tunisia: Diagnosis, Laboratory Findings of Cerebrospinal Fluid and Clinical Manifestations

Abstract

Human enteroviruses (HEV) are one of the major causes of central nervous system (CNS) infections in pediatrics. A prospective study was conducted to assess the epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of enterovirus (EV) infections of the CNS in children under 15-years-old, suspected of having viral CNS infections and admitted to the Pediatric Department of Monastir University Hospital, Tunisia. Enteroviral RNA was detected by 5' NCR nested RT-PCR assay in 33% (20 out of 60) of cerebrospinal fluid specimens, whereas only six samples (10%) were EV positive in cell culture. EV-positive patients were clustered according to their clinical manifestations, predominantly diagnosed as aseptic meningitis (65%) and meningoencephalitis (20%). Fever, headache, vomiting, and neck stiffness were the most pronounced symptoms. Pleocytosis with the predominance of lymphocytes was observed in 60% of EV positive specimens. Although patients suffering from EV infections were encountered throughout the year, most occurred during spring and summer months. Using VP1-2A nested RT-PCR and sequence analysis, three of the 20 positive HEV were identified as Echovirus (E)-9. This is the first report of a cluster of aseptic meningitis cases caused by E-9 in Monastir.