MIAMI. – He Day Encephalitis World Cup is on February 22. It is a disease that goes beyond a headache. It is an inflammation of the brain that can be generated by an infection or by an erroneous reaction of the immune system.
It is estimated that in approximately half of the cases, it is still not possible to find an identifiable cause of the disease.
Among the symptoms of encephalitis, headache, fever, seizures may occur; neurological manifestations, confusion and impaired alertness.
The Encephalitis Society indicates that “the large number of possible causes and the various manifestations of encephalitis, often with alarming symptoms, can complicate treatment, and there are people who develop severe symptoms during the acute phase of the disease. However, early detection improves its prognosis.”
“The incidence of encephalitis is not low. It is believed that due to the difficulty in its identification it is underdiagnosed. In the United States it varies between 150 to more than 4,000 cases per year, mainly in children,” said Dr. Rebeca Fernández, from the Neurology service. from the La Luz University Hospital in Madrid, Europa Press.
Disease transmission
The WHO points out that “arboviral encephalitis is diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, which can cause neurological symptoms in humans and animals.” Within this group are West Nile virus encephalitis (WNV), St. Louis encephalitis (SLEV), Japanese encephalitis (JEV), eastern equine encephalitis (EEEV), and western equine encephalitis (WEEV). ).
Likewise, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) asserts that prevention mechanisms have their main point “in avoiding mosquito bites, as well as in vaccination in the case of Japanese encephalitis.”
Treatment involves supportive care and symptom management: “There are no specific antiviral treatments for arboviral encephalitis.”
In December 2023, PAHO warned about the risk to human health associated with the circulation of the western equine encephalitis (WEE) virus. Between December 19, 2023 and January 9, 2024, 374 additional outbreaks in animals were reported (338 in Argentina and 36 in Uruguay) and 21 human cases in Argentina.
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Source: WHO/ PAHO/ Europa Press/ International Day Portal
