Abstract
Self-limited involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) is a relatively common complication of primary infection with human herpesvirus six (HHV-6) in normal children. We describe an HIV-infected infant who developed fulminant encephalitis as a complication of HHV-6 infection. Immunohistochemical staining of CNS tissue demonstrated productive infection of all CNS cell-types. Analysis of the infected brain tissue by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmed the presence of a dense HHV-6 infection in the tissue, and demonstrated that the virus present in the CNS tissue was predominantly the A variant of HHV-6. This is the first demonstration of invasive tissue disease caused by HHV-6 in an HIV-infected infant.
Publication types
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Case Reports
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / complications*
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AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / pathology
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AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / virology
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Base Sequence
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Brain / pathology
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Brain / virology
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DNA Primers / genetics
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DNA, Viral / genetics
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Encephalitis, Viral / complications*
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Encephalitis, Viral / pathology
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Encephalitis, Viral / virology
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Female
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HIV-1*
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Herpesviridae Infections / complications*
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Herpesviridae Infections / pathology
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Herpesviridae Infections / virology
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Herpesvirus 6, Human* / genetics
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Herpesvirus 6, Human* / immunology
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Herpesvirus 6, Human* / pathogenicity
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Humans
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Immunohistochemistry
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Infant
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Molecular Sequence Data
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Polymerase Chain Reaction