APPLICATION OF PCR FOR VARIOUS NEUROTROPIC VIRUSES ON THE DIAGNOSIS OF VIRAL MENINGITIS

Background: Epidemiological studies have indicated that the majority o f cases of aseptic meningitis result from viral infections. However, s pecific viral pathogens for aseptic meningitis can be identified in on ly some cases even if consistent conventional diagnostic methodologies are used. Objectives: To clarify the etiological agents of aseptic me ningitis by means of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for various neuro tropic viruses. Study design: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were c ollected from 73 children suspected of having meningitis from November 1991 to December 1994. The samples were examined for infectious virus es by cell culture and for viral genomes by PCR. Results and conclusio ns: Of 45 samples from patients diagnosed with aseptic meningitis, pos itive PCR results for enterovirus, mumps virus, cytomegalovirus, and v aricella-zoster virus were obtained from respectively 25, 14, 1, and 1 . Viral pathogens were thus identified in 41 (91.1%) of the 45 CSF sam ples. By the combination of PCR methods with conventional virological methods, the diagnosis of viral meningitis was established in 97.8% of the 45 cases. Our findings prove that the application of PCR methods is useful for etiological study of aseptic meningitis, and that the va st majority of cases of aseptic meningitis result from viral infection . (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.