Neurological manifestations of dengue infection: a review

Dengue is a common arboviral infection in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes and caused by infection with one of the 4 serotypes of dengue virus. Neurologic manifestations are increasingly recognised but the exact incidence is unknown. Dengue infection has a wide spectrum of neurological complications such as encephalitis, myositis, myelitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and mononeuropathies. Encephalopathy is the most common reported complication. In endemic regions, dengue infection should be considered as one of the aetiologies of encephalitis. Even for other neurological syndromes like myelitis, myositis, GBS etc., dengue infection should be kept in differential diagnosis and should be ruled out especially so in endemic countries during dengue outbreaks and in cases where the aetiology is uncertain. A high degree of suspicion in endemic areas can help in picking up more cases thereby helping in understanding the true extent of neurological complications in dengue fever. Also knowledge regarding the various neurological complications helps in looking for the warning signs and early diagnosis thereby improving patient outcome.