New virus isolated from patients with severe brain infections

A new virus has been identified in patients with severe brain infections in Vietnam by a team led by Oxford University researchers. Further research is needed to determine whether the virus is responsible for the symptoms of disease. The virus was found in 28 out of 644 patients with severe brain infections in the study, but not in any of the 122 patients with non-infectious brain disorders that were tested. Infections of the brain and central nervous system are often fatal and patients who do survive, often young children and young adults, are left severely disabled. Brain infections can be caused by a range of bacterial, parasitic, fungal and viral agents. However, doctors fail to find the cause of the infection in more than half of cases despite extensive diagnostic efforts. Not knowing the causes of these brain infections makes public health and treatment interventions impossible, say the researchers.