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Litchi?associated Acute Encephalitis in Children, Northern Vietnam, 2004?2009

Ronan Kelly

Retired 2020
:tiphat: ironorehopper

Litchi?associated Acute Encephalitis in Children, Northern Vietnam, 2004?2009

Paireau J, Tuan NH, Lefran?ois R, Buckwalter MR, Nghia ND, Hien NT, et al. Litchi?associated acute encephalitis in children, northern Vietnam, 2004?2009. Emerg Infect Dis [Internet]. 2012 Nov [date cited]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1811.111761

Abstract
Since the end of the 1990s, unexplained outbreaks of acute encephalitis in children coinciding with litchi harvesting (May?July) have been documented in the Bac Giang Province in northern Vietnam. A retrospective ecologic analysis of data for 2004?2009 involving environmental, agronomic, and climatic factors was conducted to investigate the suspected association between the outbreaks and litchi harvesting. The clinical, biological, and immunologic characteristics of the patients suggested a viral etiology. The ecologic study revealed an independent association between litchi plantation surface proportion and acute encephalitis incidence: Incidence rate ratios were 1.52 (95% CI 0.90?2.57), 2.94 (95% CI 1.88?4.60), and 2.76 (95% CI 1.76?4.32) for second, third, and fourth quartiles, respectively, compared with the lowest quartile. This ecologic study confirmed the suspected association between incidence of acute encephalitis and litchi plantations and should be followed by other studies to identify the causative agent for this syndrome.

full paper at; http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/18/11/11-1761_article.htm
 
Re: Litchi?associated Acute Encephalitis in Children, Northern Vietnam, 2004?2009

This could be a huge break. We have had multiple outbreaks of encephalitis of unknown caused associated with litchis in India and Bangladesh:

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?p=458701
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=413092&postcount=64
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-148050.html

Vietnam has also reported the encephalitis they believe is caused by an unknown virus they call "acmong virus" (Vietnamese for "nightmare", from the hallucinations it causes). I wonder if all these cases are related.
 
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