CALIFORNIA ENCEPHALITIS IN ALABAMA

Arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) infections in humans are primarily c entral nervous system infections, but other clinical manifestations in clude febrile illness and fever with hemorrhagic diathesis, In the gen us Bunyavirus there are several viruses that cause disease in humans, especially in North America; these include LaCrosse, Jamestown Canyon, trivittatus, and snowshoe hare viruses, The disease seen mainly in ch ildren is California encephalitis (usually of the LaCrosse subtype); t his infection is widespread in the United States but is most prevalent in the upper Midwest, especially in rural areas. We present the first reported case of California encephalitis in rural Alabama; the patien t was a 7-year-old boy who came to us with fever and seizures in the s ummer of 1994. This report stresses the importance of including Califo rnia encephalitis in the differential diagnosis when children have fev er and altered sensorium after exposure to mosquitoes during summer mo nths.