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Human parechovirus possible in young children with CNS infections
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Young children with central nervous system infection symptoms may have human parechovirus as a possible diagnosis, according to recent study findings published in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.
“Human parechoviruses are increasingly recognized as significant etiological agents for meningoencephalitis, especially in young children, but testing of cerebrospinal fluid for [human parechovirus] by PCR is not routinely performed,” the researchers wrote.
The study included cerebrospinal fluid samples from 440 children collected from 2008 to August 2012. Seventy-five percent of the patients were aged 5 years or younger and 49% were younger than 3 months.
Researchers found that 12 patients (2.7%) were positive for human parechovirus and all were younger than 5 years. Enterovirus was present in 10.7% of the samples. There was a prevalence rate of 3.6% for human parechovirus and 12% for enterovirus in patients aged 5 years and younger.
Patients who tested positive for human parechovirus also were more likely to have neurological symptoms compared with patients positive for enterovirus.
“Human parechoviruses should form part of the differential when evaluating a young child for meningitis or encephalitis,” Susanna Felsenstein, MD, of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles told Infectious Diseases in Children. “Normal [cerebrospinal fluid] parameters do not exclude human parechovirus as an etiologic agent. A broader implication of [reverse transcription]-PCR in clinical practice for the detection of these viruses would provide valuable insights into their epidemiology and the extent of their pathogenicity.”
Felsenstein S. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2013;doi:10.1097/INF.0000000000000112.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.