Current status and future considerations on laboratory diagnosis of viral central nervous system infections in children / 中华检验医学杂志

Viral central nervous system infection (VCNSI), with high disability and mortality rates, is a serious threat for the health of children. Given the low pathogen load in cerebrospinal fluid and limitations of conventional virus detection technology, the early pathogenic diagnosis methods are less than ideal. With the development of multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR), digital PCR, point-of-care testing detection of nucleic acid, and metagenome high-throughput sequencing, the clinical use of viral diagnostic technologies has become more prevalent. In this comment, the current status and future directions of laboratory diagnosis of VCNSI in children are discussed.