Arthropod-borne encephalitis: an overview for the clinician and emerging considerations

The rapid spread of arboviral infections in recent years has continually established arthropod-borne encephalitis to be a pressing global health concern. Causing a wide range of clinical presentations ranging from asymptomatic infection to fulminant neurological disease, the hallmark features of arb...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Postgraduate medical journal 2023-07, Vol.99 (1174), p.826-833
Main Authors: Boruah, Abhilasha Pankaj, Thakur, Kiran T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arbovirus Infections
Arboviruses
Encephalitis, Arbovirus
Humans
Review
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Summary:The rapid spread of arboviral infections in recent years has continually established arthropod-borne encephalitis to be a pressing global health concern. Causing a wide range of clinical presentations ranging from asymptomatic infection to fulminant neurological disease, the hallmark features of arboviral infection are important to clinically recognise. Arboviral infections may cause severe neurological presentations such as meningoencephalitis, epilepsy, acute flaccid paralysis and stroke. While the pathogenesis of arboviral infections is still being investigated, shared neuroanatomical pathways among these viruses may give insight into future therapeutic targets. The shifting infection transmission patterns and evolving distribution of arboviral vectors are heavily influenced by global climate change and human environmental disruption, therefore it is of utmost importance to consider this potential aetiology when assessing patients with encephalitic presentations.
ISSN:0032-5473
1469-0756
DOI:10.1136/pmj-2022-142002