Eastern Equine Encephalitis Differential Diagnoses

  • Author: Mohan Nandalur, MD; Chief Editor: Burke A Cunha, MD   more...
 
Updated: Jun 9, 2011
 
 

Diagnostic Considerations

The current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for diagnosis of an arbovirus infection require the presence of an acute febrile illness with encephalitis during a time when viral transmission is likely and at least 1 of the following criteria is met:

  • Greater than 4-fold increase in the viral antibody titer between acute and convalescent sera (often 10 weeks apart)
  • Isolation of the virus from CSF, blood, or tissue
  • Immunoglobulin M (IgM) positive to the organism in the CSF; presumptive positives can be made from the remaining biochemical assays (eg, hemoagglutinin inhibition, immunofluorescence, neutralization, complement fixation)

See the following for more information:

Differential Diagnoses

Proceed to Workup
 
 
Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Mohan Nandalur, MD  Staff Physician, Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Washington Hospital Center

Mohan Nandalur, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American College of Cardiology, American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, and Phi Beta Kappa

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Andrew W Urban, MD  Chief, Section of Infectious Diseases, Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital; Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Wisconsin at Madison School of Medicine and Public Health

Andrew W Urban, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Gary L Gorby, MD  Associate Professor, Departments of Internal Medicine and Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Division of Infectious Diseases, Creighton University School of Medicine; Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center; Associate Chair, Omaha Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Gary L Gorby, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Medical Association, American Society for Microbiology, Infectious Diseases Society of America, and New York Academy of Sciences

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD  Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Medscape Salary Employment

John L Brusch, MD, FACP  Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Consulting Staff, Department of Medicine and Infectious Disease Service, Cambridge Health Alliance

John L Brusch, MD, FACP is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians and Infectious Diseases Society of America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Burke A Cunha, MD  Professor of Medicine, State University of New York School of Medicine at Stony Brook; Chief, Infectious Disease Division, Winthrop-University Hospital

Burke A Cunha, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Physicians, and Infectious Diseases Society of America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

References
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  2. Deresiewicz RL, Thaler SJ, Hsu L, Zamani AA. Clinical and neuroradiographic manifestations of eastern equine encephalitis. N Engl J Med. Jun 26 1997;336(26):1867-74. [Medline].

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  6. Davis LE, Beckham JD, Tyler KL. North American encephalitic arboviruses. Neurol Clin. Aug 2008;26(3):727-57, ix. [Medline]. [Full Text].

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