Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Jul 25:5:57-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.idcr.2016.07.008. eCollection 2016.

Neonatal encephalitis due to Chikungunya vertical transmission: First report in Brazil

Antonio Carlos Bandeira  1 , Gubio Soares Campos  2 , Silvia Ines Sardi  2 , Veronica França Diniz Rocha  3 , Guilherme Cesar Mendes Rocha  4
Affiliations

Neonatal encephalitis due to Chikungunya vertical transmission: First report in Brazil

Antonio Carlos Bandeira et al. IDCases. .

Abstract

Purpose: To report the first case of Chikungunya encephalitis acquired in the perinatal period during the current outbreak in Brazil.

Methods: Case report.

Results: A male neonate with 3500 g developed macular erythematous rash, hypoactivity and fever progressing to generalized seizures. His mother had experienced a disseminated rash and fever before delivery. EEG showed diffuse slowing and cranial NMR was suggestive of encephalitis. Rt-PCR for Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) was positive in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), blood, urine and saliva. The newborn was discharged home with neurological improvement.

Conclusion: We report the first case of a perinatal CHIKV infection associated with a rapidly evolving encephalitis and an extensive dissemination of the virus as documented by positive rt-PCR results in CSF, blood, urine and saliva in the present outbreak in Brazil. In countries experiencing outbreaks of CHIKV infections, clinicians and neonatologists must be familiar with the possibility of the occurrence of neurologic complications and its possible consequences.

Keywords: Chikungunya neonatal; Chikungunya-associated encephalitis; Neonatal encephalitis; Neurological syndromes; Vertical transmission..

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Diffusion-weighted NMR imaging of the brain.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Diffusion-weighted NMR imaging of the brain.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Diffusion-weighted NMR imaging showing corpus callosum involvement.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Post-contrast T1-weighted.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Preparação e resposta à introdução do vírus Chikungunya no Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Brasília: Ministerio da Saúde, 2014.
    1. Gerardin P., Sampériz S., Ramful D., Boumahni B. Neurocognitive outcome of children exposed to perinatal mother-to-child chikungunya virus infection: the CHIMERE cohort study on Reunion island. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2014;8(7):1–14. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gerardin P., Barau G., Michault A., Bintner M. Multidisciplinary prospective study of mother-to-child chikungunya virus infections on the Island of La Reunion. PLoS Med. 2008;5(3):413–423. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Edwards C.J., Welch S.R., Chamberlain J. Molecular diagnosis and analysis of Chikungunya virus. J Clin Virol. 2007;39:271–275. - PubMed
    1. Balm M.N.D., Lee C.K., Lee H.K. A diagnostic polymerase chain reaction assay for Zika virus. J Med Virol. 2012;84:1501–1505. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources