A Case Series of Scrub Meningoencephalitis from a Tertiary Care Center in North India

Vikas Suri; Harpreet Singh; Kunwer A Ary; Manisha Biswal; Chirag K Ahuja; Parampreet Kharbanda; Navneet Sharma

doi:10.4103/aian.aian_135_23

A Case Series of Scrub Meningoencephalitis from a Tertiary Care Center in North India

Ann Indian Acad Neurol. 2023 Jul-Aug;26(4):549-552. doi: 10.4103/aian.aian_135_23. Epub 2023 Sep 11.

Authors

Vikas Suri¹, Harpreet Singh¹, Kunwer A Ary¹, Manisha Biswal², Chirag K Ahuja³, Parampreet Kharbanda⁴, Navneet Sharma¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
² Department of Medical Microbiology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
³ Department of Radiodiagnosis, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
⁴ Department of Neurology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.

Abstract

Scrub typhus infection is reemerging leading cause of acute febrile illnesses in post-rainy or monsoon season in Southeast Asia. It is caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi and spread by the bite of chiggers, larval forms of trombiculid mites. The clinical picture can range from simple acute febrile illness to multiorgan dysfunction. Neurological manifestations also vary from aseptic meningitis, meningoencephalitis, cerebral infarction, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, transverse myelitis, and psychiatric manifestations. Here, we present a case series of eight cases of scrub meningoencephalitis diagnosed based on clinical, laboratory, and radiological criteria.

Keywords: CSF (cerebrospinal fluid); ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay); RT-PCR (reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction); scrub typhus.