Dengue and chikungunya infection in neurologic disorders from endemic areas in Brazil
Cíntia da Silva Mello, Mauro Jorge Cabral‐Castro, Luiz Claudio Silva de Faria, José Mauro Peralta, Marzia Puccioni‐Sohler
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: (ZIKV) in adult patients with suspected viral infection of the CNS or postinfectious syndromes living in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. METHODS: DENV, CHIKV, and ZIKV RNA by reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and specific IgM antibodies were investigated in 47 CSF and serum samples of 36 adult patients suspected with viral infection or postinfectious neurologic diseases. In addition, intrathecal synthesis of anti-DENV and anti-CHIKV IgG antibodies was also evaluated using a specific antibody index. RESULTS: syndrome (2), optic neuritis (1), neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (1), polyneuropathy, (1) and myelitis (1). CONCLUSION: DENV and CHIKV are a frequent cause of emerging and reemerging infections. It increases the number of cases with neurologic complications worldwide. We demonstrated that the combined use of molecular and immunologic tests in CSF/serum might support more widely the diagnosis of neurologic disorders caused by arbovirus in endemic areas. The detection of intrathecal synthesis of specific IgG antibodies may be promising for the retrospective diagnosis of neuroinvasive disorders caused by arbovirus.