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Updated: May 17, 2026

A Murine Model of Dengue Virus-induced Acute Viral Encephalitis-like Disease
Published on: April 28, 2019
Litchi-associated acute encephalitis in children, Northern Vietnam, 2004-2009
Juliette Paireau1, Nguyen Hai Tuan, Rémi Lefrançois
1Unité d’Epidémiologie des Maladies Emergentes, Bâtiment Laveran 3ème étage, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
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.
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