Viral meningitis

Viral meningitis, also known as aseptic meningitis, is a type of meningitis due to a viral infection. It results in inflammation of the meninges (the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord). Symptoms commonly include headache, fever, sensitivity to light and neck stiffness. Viruses are the most common cause of aseptic meningitis. Most cases of viral meningitis are caused by enteroviruses (common stomach viruses). However, other viruses can also cause viral meningitis, such as West Nile virus, mumps, measles, herpes simplex types I and II, varicella and lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM) virus. Based on clinical symptoms, viral meningitis cannot be reliably differentiated from bacterial meningitis, although viral meningitis typically follows a more benign clinical course. Viral meningitis has no evidence of bacteria present in cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). Therefore, lumbar puncture with CSF analysis is often needed to identify the disease. In most cases, there is no specific treatment, with efforts generally aimed at relieving symptoms (headache, fever or nausea). A few viral causes, such as HSV, have specific treatments. In the United States, viral meningitis is the cause of more than half of all cases of meningitis. With the prevalence of bacterial meningitis in decline, the viral disease is garnering more and more attention. The estimated incidence has a considerable range, from 0.26 to 17 cases per 100,000 people. For enteroviral meningitis, the most common cause of viral meningitis, there are up to 75,000 cases annually in the United States alone. While the disease can occur in both children and adults, it is more common in children. Viral meningitis characteristically presents with fever, headache and neck stiffness. Fever is the result of cytokines released that affect the thermoregulatory (temperature control) neurons of the hypothalamus. Cytokines and increased intracranial pressure stimulate nociceptors in the brain that lead to headaches. Neck stiffness is the result of inflamed meninges stretching due to flexion of the spine.

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Aseptic meningitis

Aseptic meningitis is the inflammation of the meninges, a membrane covering the brain and spinal cord, in patients whose cerebral spinal fluid test result is negative with routine bacterial cultures. Aseptic meningitis is caused by viruses, mycobacteria, spirochetes, fungi, medications, and cancer malignancies. The testing for both meningitis and aseptic meningitis is mostly the same. A cerebrospinal fluid sample is taken by lumbar puncture and is tested for leukocyte levels to determine if there is an infection and goes on to further testing to see what the actual cause is.

Méningite

La est une maladie caractérisée par une inflammation des méninges, les enveloppes du névraxe (encéphale et moelle spinale). Cette inflammation peut être due à une infection par un virus ou une bactérie par exemple, et moins souvent par un médicament. La méningite peut menacer le pronostic vital en raison de la proximité immédiate de l'encéphale ; il s'agit d'une urgence. C'est essentiellement le fait des méningites bactériennes, plus rares, tandis que les méningites virales, plus fréquentes, sont en principe bénignes.

Maladie de Lyme

La maladie de Lyme est une maladie vectorielle et une zoonose (maladie infectieuse touchant l'être humain et de nombreux animaux). La maladie de Lyme est nommée d'après les villes de Lyme et Old Lyme, deux villes des États-Unis, dans l'État du Connecticut où elle a été signalée pour la première fois en 1975 et identifiée en 1977. Transmise par piqûre de tiques dures du genre Ixodes, c'est une maladie bactérienne, due à une borrélie (Borrelia burgdorferi, au sens étroit, prédominante en Amérique du Nord).

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