Laboratory testing of specimens from patients with viral encephalitis from some regions of China / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To understand the viral etiology of viral encephalitis in China by detecting IgM antibody and viral RNA in the clinical samples of patients from some provinces of China by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and polymerase chain reaction.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples of 771 patients with viral encephalitis or meningitis were collected from six provinces of China and were stored at -20 degrees C or -70 degrees C. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used for detection of IgM antibody to Japanese encephalitis virus, coxsackievirus, echovirus, herpes simplex virus, measles virus, varicella-zoster virus, mumps virus, cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus. Polymerase chain reaction was applied for the detection of viral RNA of enteroviruses and seadornavirus.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>IgM antibody was detected in 567 of 771 (73.5%) cases. The most common pathogen was Japanese encephalitis virus (47.0%, 362/771), followed by mumps virus (10.6%, 82/771), enteroviruses (8.8%, 68/771), herpes simplex virus (5.7%, 44/771), measles virus (0.4%, 3/771), varicella-zoster virus (0.4%, 3/771), Epstein-Barr virus (0.4%, 3/771), and cytomegalovirus (0.3%, 2/771). Enterovirus was positive in 8 cases, seadornavirus was negative in all the cases by PCR.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>According to the study, Japanese encephalitis was the most important encephalitis in China. Mumps virus was another important pathogen. Enteroviruses and herpes simplex virus were also important pathogens.</p>