BACKGROUND: Deer tick virus (DTV) is a tick-borne flavivirus that has only recently been appreciated as a cause of viral encephalitis. We describe the clinical presentation of a patient who had DTV encephalitis diagnosed before death and survived for 8 months despite severe neurologic dysfunction. METHODS: Diagnosis was made from a cerebrospinal fluid specimen, using a flavivirus-specific polymerase chain-reaction assay followed by sequence confirmation, and the phylogeny was analyzed. Serologic testing, including plaque reduction neutralization testing, was also performed. RESULTS: Molecular analysis indicated that the virus was closely related to 2 strains of DTV that had been detected in Ixodes scapularis ticks from Massachusetts in 1996 and in the brain of a patient from New York in 2007. CONCLUSIONS: DTV encephalitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of encephalitis in geographic areas that are endemic for Lyme disease.
BACKGROUND:Deer tick virus (DTV) is a tick-borne flavivirus that has only recently been appreciated as a cause of viral encephalitis. We describe the clinical presentation of a patient who had DTVencephalitis diagnosed before death and survived for 8 months despite severe neurologic dysfunction. METHODS: Diagnosis was made from a cerebrospinal fluid specimen, using a flavivirus-specific polymerase chain-reaction assay followed by sequence confirmation, and the phylogeny was analyzed. Serologic testing, including plaque reduction neutralization testing, was also performed. RESULTS: Molecular analysis indicated that the virus was closely related to 2 strains of DTV that had been detected in Ixodes scapularis ticks from Massachusetts in 1996 and in the brain of a patient from New York in 2007. CONCLUSIONS:DTVencephalitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of encephalitis in geographic areas that are endemic for Lyme disease.
Authors: Alan P Dupuis; Ryan J Peters; Melissa A Prusinski; Richard C Falco; Richard S Ostfeld; Laura D Kramer Journal: Parasit Vectors Date: 2013-07-15 Impact factor: 3.876
Authors: Marc Y El Khoury; Jose F Camargo; Jennifer L White; Bryon P Backenson; Alan P Dupuis; Kay L Escuyer; Laura Kramer; Kirsten St George; Debarati Chatterjee; Melissa Prusinski; Gary P Wormser; Susan J Wong Journal: Emerg Infect Dis Date: 2013-12 Impact factor: 6.883
Authors: Holly M Frost; Anna M Schotthoefer; Angela M Thomm; Alan P Dupuis; Sue C Kehl; Laura D Kramer; Thomas R Fritsche; Yvette A Harrington; Konstance K Knox Journal: Emerg Infect Dis Date: 2017-08 Impact factor: 6.883