Objective: To study the relationship between herpes viral infection and viral encephalitis.
Methods: The cerebral spinal fluid(CSF) and sera of the patients with viral encephalitis were detected for herpes virus-specific IgG and IgM with indirect fluorescent antibody assay (IFA).
Results: One hundred and thirty-three (14.4%) cases of 921 patients with viral encephalitis were diagnosed as herpes simplex viral encephalitis, of which the maximum morbidity is under the age of 10, 9(0.98%) cases as cytomegaloviral encephalitis and 12 (1.3%) cases as varicella-zoster viral encephalitis.
Conclusion: Herpes simplex viruses are the common causative agents of viral encephalitis in Changsha area, and IFA is valuable for the diagnosis of herpes viral encephalitis.