Recurring episodes of meningitis (Mollaret's meningitis) with one showing an association with herpes simplex virus type 2

Abstract

Benign recurrent aseptic (Mollaret's) meningitis is a rare disease of unknown aetiology. We report the case of a 27-year-old woman who experienced three episodes of lymphocytic meningitis. Human Simplex Virus (HSV) type 2 DNA was detected in the CSF by PCR amplification indicating the diagnosis of recurrent HSV type 2 meningitis. Our observation suggests that search of herpes virus DNA by PCR amplification on CSF may be useful in unexplained recurrent meningitis.