children s health issues
Viral Central Nervous System Infections in Children
Introduction
 Viral Meningitis None Central nervous system (CNS) infections caused by viruses can cause meningitis and encephalitis. Symptoms usually start with fever and can progress to irritability, refusal to eat, headache, neck stiffness, and sometimes seizures. The diagnosis of viral central nervous system infections is based on a spinal tap. Antiviral medications are usually not effective for most viruses that cause central nervous system infections, so children need to receive supportive measures (such as fluids and medications to control fever and pain). Many infections are mild, but others are severe and can cause death. Overview of Viral Infections that cause central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) infections include herpesviruses (see also Some of these infections affect primarily the meninges (the tissues covering the brain and spinal cord) and cause Introduction to Meningitis . Other viral infections affect primarily the brain and are called Encephalitis . Infections that affect both the meninges and brain are called meningoencephalitis. Meningitis is far more common among children than is encephalitis. Viruses affect the central nervous system in two ways: They can directly infect and destroy cells in the brain and spinal cord . Certain viral infections elsewhere in the body can cause the immune system to attack and damage cells around the nerves. Children acquire viral infections of the central nervous system through various routes. Newborns can develop herpesvirus infections through contact with infected secretions in the birth canal (see Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) Infection in Newborns ). Other viral infections are acquired by breathing air contaminated with virus-containing droplets exhaled by an infected person. Arbovirus infections are acquired from bites by infected insects. Sometimes after a viral infection, children develop inflammation of the nerves in the brain and spinal cord called postinfectious encephalomyelitis or Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM) . This disorder typically causes symptoms such as fever, a headache, nausea, and vomiting to occur a few weeks after children recover from the initial viral infection. 