Viral encephalitis causes

Template:Encephalitis Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editors-In-Chief: Priyamvada Singh, MBBS [2]

Overview

Encephalitis is an acute inflammation of the brain, commonly caused by a viral infection. Sometimes, encephalitis can result from a bacterial infection, such as bacterial meningitis, or it may be a complication of other infectious diseases like rabies (viral) or syphilis (bacterial). Certain parasitic or protozoal infestations, such as toxoplasmosis, malaria, or primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, can also cause encephalitis in people with compromised immune systems. Additionally, fungal, and autoimmune disorders can also produce encephalitis

Causes

Life Threatening Causes

Life-threatening causes include conditions which may result in death or permanent disability within 24 hours if left untreated.

• Balamuthia mandrillaris
• Dengue fever

Common Causes

• Arbovirus
• Herpes simplex virus
• Measles
• Mumps
• Polio
• Rabies

Causes by Organ System

Cardiovascular	Kawasaki disease
Chemical / poisoning	Arsenic, heavy metal toxicity, organophosphate poisoning, poison hemlock, thallium
Dermatologic	Behcet disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome
Drug Side Effect	Zanamivir
Ear Nose Throat	Cholesteatoma, labyrinthitis, sinusitis
Endocrine	Myasthenia gravis
Environmental	No underlying causes
Gastroenterologic	Porphyria
Genetic	Aicardi-Goutières syndrome, biotinidase deficiency, familial histiocytic reticulosis, hemophagocytic reticulosis, porphyria, Smith disease
Hematologic	Familial histiocytic reticulosis, hemophagocytic reticulosis, lymphoproliferative syndrome, porphyria
Iatrogenic	No underlying causes
Infectious Disease	Borrelia burgdorferi, botulism, California encephalitis virus, campylobacter fetus, capnocytophaga canimorsus, cardiovirus, cat scratch disease, cercopithecine herpesvirus 1, Chagas disease, chandipura virus, chicken pox, coccidioides spp, Colorado tick fever, congenital herpes simplex , congenital rubella syndrome, congenital syphilis, coxiella burnetii , coxsackievirus, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, cryptococcosis , cryptococcus neoformans, cysticercosis, cytomegalovirus, dengue fever, diphtheria, Eastern equine encephalitis virus, Ebstein-Barr virus, ehrlichia chaffeensis , ehrlichiosis, elizabethkingia meningoseptica, enterobacter sakazakii, enterovirus 70, enterovirus 71, enteroviruses, escherichia coli, fetal parainfluenza virus type 3 , flavivirus infections, flu, gnathostoma hispidum infection, gnathostoma spinigerum infection, gnathostoma spinigerum, haemophilus influenzae, hantavirosis , hemorrhagic fever, hendra virus, hepatitis E virus, herpes B virus, herpes simplex virus, histoplasma capsulatum, HIV, human granulocytotrophic ehrlichiosis, human herpesvirus 6, human monocytotrophic ehrlichiosis, immunosuppressive measles encephalitis, influenza virus, Japanese encephalitis, JC virus, klebsiella, kumlinge virus encephalitis, kunjin virus, labyrinthitis, listeria monocytogenes, listeriosis , louping ill, Lyme disease, lymphocytic choriomeningitis, lyssavirus, malaria, measles, mononucleosis , mumps , mumps virus, Murray Valley encephalitis virus, mycobacterium avium-intracellulare, mycobacterium tuberculosis, mycoplasma pneumoniae, naegleria fowleri, neisseria meningiditis, neonatal herpes, nipah virus, pneumococcus, poliomyelitis, pontiac fever, Powassan virus, poxviridae disease , primary amoebic meningoencephalitis , primary encephalitis , progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, pseudomonas aeruginosa, Q fever, Queensland tick typhus, rabies, Rasmussen's encephalitis , rickettsiae, Rift Valley fever, rocio encephalitis , Rocky Mountain spotted fever, rubella, salmonella typhi, schistosoma japonicum, secondary encephalitis , shingles , Simian B virus infection, sinusitis, St. Louis encephalitis , staphylococcus aureus, streptococcus pneumoniae, streptococcus suis, streptococcus, group B, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, taenia solium , tick-borne encephalitis, togaviridae disease , TORCH syndrome , toxocariasis , toxoplasma gondii, toxoplasmosis , trench fever, treponema pallidum, trichinella, trichinosis , tropheryma whipplei, trypanosoma brucei gambiense, trypanosomiasis , vaccinia, varicella zoster virus, varicella zoster, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, viral encephalitis, West Nile fever, Western equine encephalitis virus, Western equine encephalitis, whooping cough , yersinia pestis
Musculoskeletal / Ortho	Metabolic myopathies, multiple sclerosis, skull fracture
Neurologic	Aicardi-Goutières syndrome, aseptic meningitis, cauda equina syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, conus medullaris, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, multiple sclerosis, paraneoplastic neurologic disorders, poliomyelitis, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, St. Louis encephalitis , subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome
Nutritional / Metabolic	Biotinidase deficiency, metabolic myopathies
Obstetric/Gynecologic	TORCH syndrome
Oncologic	Paraneoplastic neurologic disorders
Opthalmologic	Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome
Overdose / Toxicity	Heavy metal toxicity
Psychiatric	Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
Pulmonary	Flu, whooping cough
Renal / Electrolyte	Systemic lupus erythematosus
Rheum / Immune / Allergy	Behcet disease, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus
Sexual	No underlying causes
Trauma	Cauda equina syndrome, skull fracture
Urologic	No underlying causes
Miscellaneous	Porphyria

Causes in Alphabetical Order

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Gallery

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  This image reveals some of the cytoarchitectural features seen in a lymph node specimen that had been extracted from a patient suspected of a Hantavirus illness. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL).