Neuroinvasive West Nile Infection with an Unusual Clinical Presentation: A Single-Center Case Series
Open Access
- 31 August 2020
- journal article
- case report
- Published by MDPI AG in Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
- Vol. 5 (3), 138
- https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed5030138
Abstract
The 2018 West Nile Virus (WNV) season in Europe was characterized by an extremely high infection rate and an exceptionally higher burden when compared to previous seasons. Overall, there was a 10.9-fold increase in incidence in Italy, with 577 human cases, 230 WNV neuroinvasive diseases (WNNV) and 42 WNV-attributed deaths. Methods: in this paper we retrospectively reported the neurological presentation of 7 patients admitted to University Hospital of Udine with a diagnosis of WNNV, especially focusing on two patients who presented with atypical severe brain stem involvement. Conclusions: the atypical features of some of these forms highlight the necessity to stay vigilant and suspect the diagnosis when confronted with neurological symptoms. We strongly encourage clinicians to consider WNNV in patients presenting with unexplained neurological symptoms in mild climate-areas at risk.Keywords
This publication has 16 references indexed in Scilit:
- Opsoclonus-Myoclonus Syndrome Associated With West-Nile Virus Infection: Case Report and Review of the LiteratureFrontiers in Neurology, 2018
- Early start of the West Nile fever transmission season 2018 in EuropeEurosurveillance, 2018
- Superiority of West Nile Virus RNA Detection in Whole Blood for Diagnosis of Acute InfectionJournal of Clinical Microbiology, 2016
- West Nile Virus Infection in the Immunocompromised PatientCurrent Infectious Disease Reports, 2013
- Diagnosis of West Nile Virus Human Infections: Overview and Proposal of Diagnostic Protocols Considering the Results of External Quality Assessment StudiesViruses, 2013
- West Nile Virus: Review of the LiteratureJAMA, 2013
- Excretion of West Nile Virus in Urine During Acute InfectionThe Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2013
- Stroke Associated With Central Nervous System Vasculitis After West Nile Virus InfectionJournal of Child Neurology, 2006
- Characterization of neutralizing antibodies to West Nile virusVirology, 2005
- West Nile virus: where are we now?The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2004