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St. Louis encephalitis (American): causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Encephalitis St. Louis (American) is distributed in various parts of the United States. The causative agent of the disease is arbovirus (a filtering neurotropic virus) transmitted by blood-sucking mosquitoes. The disease occurs in late summer in the form of small epidemics.
Symptoms of American encephalitis St. Louis
The onset of the disease is acute, with a rise in body temperature to 38-39 ° C, herpetic rashes on the skin and mucous membranes. They note a headache, a violation of consciousness of varying severity. Identify meningeal syndrome. It is possible to develop focal neurological symptoms in the form of hemi or monoparesis, cerebellar disorders. In the cerebrospinal fluid, lymphocytic pleocytosis (from 50 to 500 cells per 1 μl) is usually detected, a slight increase in the protein content. In the blood - a moderate polymorphonuclear leukocytosis.
The flow is favorable. Clinical forms are diverse. Often the disease proceeds abortively, passes quickly and without a trace.
The diagnosis is confirmed by the data of the reactions of neutralization and binding of complement.
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