title: Family clustering of Viliuisk encephalomyelitis in traditional and new geographic regions.
abstract: Viliuisk encephalomyelitis is an acute, often fatal, meningoencephalitis that tends to develop into a prolonged chronically progressive panencephalitis. Clinical, neuropathologic, and epidemiologic data argue for an infectious cause, although multiple attempts at pathogen isolation have been unsuccessful. To assess mechanisms of disease transmission and spread, we studied 6 multiplex families. Secondary cases occurred among genetically related and unrelated persons in a setting of prolonged intrahousehold contact with a patient manifesting the disease. Transmission to unrelated persons was documented in a densely populated region around the city of Yakutsk in which Viliuisk encephalomyelitis had not been previously known. Initially identified in a small Yakut-Evenk population on the Viliui River of eastern Siberia, the disease subsequently spread through human contacts to new geographic areas, thus characterizing Viliuisk encephalomyelitis as an emerging infectious disease.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health-Sakha (Yakut) Republic, Yakutsk, Russian Federation.
authors.forename: Vsevolod A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Vladimirtsev
authors.forename: Raisa S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Nikitina
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Renwick
authors.forename: Anastasia A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Ivanova
authors.forename: Al'bina P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Danilova
authors.forename: Fyodor A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Platonov
authors.forename: Vadim G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Krivoshapkin
authors.forename: Catriona A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: McLean
authors.forename: Colin L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Masters
authors.forename: D Carleton
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Gajdusek
authors.forename: Lev G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Goldfarb
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004679:Encephalomyelitis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012800:Siberia / Q000453:epidemiology