Fatal enterovirus 71 encephalomyelitis.
During an outbreak of hand-foot-mouth disease caused by enterovirus 71 (EV-71) in 1997, 4 children presented with sudden cardiopulmonary collapse and minimal neurologic features. All children received cardiopulmonary resuscitation but died within a few hours of admission. Postmortem studies showed infection by EV-71 with extensive damage to the medulla and pons. We postulate an etiologic link between EV-71 and brainstem encephalomyelitis as the cause of pulmonary edema and death.
Lum
L C
LC
Department of Pediatrics, the Department of Pathology, the Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Wong
K T
KT
Lam
S K
SK
Chua
K B
KB
Goh
A Y
AY
Lim
W L
WL
Ong
B B
BB
Paul
G
G
AbuBakar
S
S
Lambert
M
M
D002675:Child, Preschool; D004679:Encephalomyelitis / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D004769:Enterovirus Infections / Q000473:pathology; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008526:Medulla Oblongata / Q000473:pathology; D011654:Pulmonary Edema / Q000821:virology