Clinical and laboratory findings on the first imported case of Murray Valley encephalitis in Europe.
Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) is an important mosquitoborne flavivirus infection endemic to Australia and Papua New Guinea. We report the first imported case of MVE in Europe. A 23-year-old tourist developed severe encephalitis after having returned to Germany from a long-term trip across the Australian continent. The diagnosis was suspected on the basis of clinical findings and the patient's travel history and was confirmed by serological findings. The patient made a prolonged but complete recovery. Our case coincides with a recently reported spread of MVE virus in Australia. This emphasizes the need for continuous surveillance in areas of endemicity and appropriate protection when traveling through regions in which the MVE virus is endemic.
Stich
August
A
Medical Mission Hospital, Department of Tropical Medicine, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany. august.stich@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de
Günther
Stephan
S
Drosten
Christian
C
Emmerich
Petra
P
Dwyer
Dominic E
DE
Hueston
Linda
L
Hetzel
Wolfgang
W
Kirschner
Armin
A
Fleischer
Klaus
K
D000328:Adult; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D018068:Encephalitis Virus, Murray Valley; D004671:Encephalitis, Arbovirus / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000635:transmission*; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010219:Papua New Guinea / Q000453:epidemiology; D014195:Travel
D000998:Antiviral Agents