Three people hospitalized with rare viral encephalitis

Ho Chi Minh City Thong Nhat Hospital received three cases of encephalitis caused by herpes virus in more than a month, up from only one case a few months ago.

Doctor Tran Thi Van Anh, Head of the Department of Internal Medicine, Thong Nhat Hospital, said that the three patients were all female, from three different places, and had the same symptoms of fever for 2-3 days, lethargy, and impaired perception.

Among them, the 36-year-old patient, suffering from diarrhea, was initially diagnosed with a gastrointestinal disease, and showed signs of altered consciousness after two days. During treatment, the patient had episodes of coma, but early and timely treatment resulted in a complete recovery of consciousness, leaving no sequelae, and he was discharged from the hospital.

A 57-year-old female patient visited the clinic for 2-3 days but her fever did not subside, and was then hospitalized due to drowsiness. After nearly a month of treatment, the patient regained consciousness but still had seizures, and was prescribed anticonvulsants to take upon discharge.

The 80-year-old woman, who was lethargic after three days of fever and thought she would not survive, has improved her consciousness and health after being treated according to the herpes encephalitis protocol and is expected to be discharged from the hospital next week.

The 80-year-old woman recovered well after treatment. Photo: Xuan Binh — The 80-year-old woman recovered well after treatment. Photo: *Xuan Binh*

"Each patient had a different level of change in perception, and the symptoms suggesting the disease were not many, but thanks to timely diagnosis and treatment, all three responded well and recovered spectacularly. In particular, the elderly woman had unclear symptoms, making it very difficult to find the cause," the doctor said.

According to Dr. Van Anh, herpes virus encephalitis appears sporadically, does not cause epidemics, so the frequency of hospitalizations like this time is quite high. There are many agents that cause encephalitis such as bacteria, viruses..., in which herpes virus encephalitis is a rare acute neurological infection, the symptoms are difficult to recognize, easily confused with other diseases. If not treated promptly, the patient may suffer severe sequelae, widespread brain damage, brain tissue necrosis and the worst is death.

Herpes virus is present in about 90% of adults, there is no vaccine to prevent the disease. The cause of encephalitis is herpes virus, often due to the reactivation of this virus, with favorable conditions for the virus to break out such as the patient having a fever, sun exposure, psychological stress, surgery, menstruation...

Doctors recommend that when a patient suddenly has abnormalities, changes in perception, excessive mood swings, confused speech, and fever, family members should take the patient to the hospital for examination. Early detection and intervention with specific medication is very important to avoid serious complications.

Some encephalitis diseases have vaccines such as Japanese encephalitis, meningococcal encephalitis... Parents should vaccinate their children to prevent the risk of infection.

Comment (0)