In sporadic encephalitis, clinical symptoms and laboratory results can be very diverse and unusual. Therefore, it is necessary to test for a variety of pathogens, including different herpesviruses, enteroviruses, influenzaviruses, parainfluenzaviruses, adenoviruses, as well as chlamydophila, mycoplasma, toxoplasma, and campylobacter species (de Oliveira et al.
2015; Esposito et al.,
2015; Fay et al.
2015; Hill et al.,
2015a,
b; Inazawa et al.
2015; Maramattom
2015; Martikainen et al.
2013; Quintela et al.,
2016; Schwartz et al.
2014; Venancio et al.
2014; Ward et al.
2002; Yao et al.
2008,
2010b). Viral cultures and PCR are commonly performed on CSF and brain tissue, as well as throat and stool specimens (Chan et al.
2002; Holden and Vas
2007). Multivirus real-time PCR (Yamamoto et al.
2015) and DNA microarrays are increasingly used to identify several microbes and their genotypes simultaneously (Boriskin et al.
2004; Miranda et al.
2011; Steiner et al.
2010). Along with HHV-6-associated encephalitis, concomitant acyclovir resistant HSV-1 and adenovirus esophagitis, rotavirus gastroenteritis, and respiratory syncytial virus penumonia were all identified in a child (Ernst et al.
2012). Antigen detection of adenoviruses, HSV, VZV, parainfluenzaviruses (Steiner et al.
2010), and influenzaviruses from throat samples may provide a possible etiology for encephalitis, but these methods are not helpful in diagnosis using CSF samples (Kawada et al.
2003; Steiner et al.
2010). Serum antibody tests can be helpful in retrospective studies, if there is a fourfold rise in antibody titer, but do not help for intial acute case diagnosis. Microbiological tests are required occasionally for measles, mumps, and rubella in countries without effective vaccination programs, as well as arboviruses and zoonosis in epidemic areas (de Ory et al.
2013; Steiner et al.
2010). The simultaneous presence of several antibodies in the CSF suggests BBB damage. Different viruses induce different histological types of encephalitis. The major targets of roseoloviruses are the brain stem (midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata), limbic area (amygdala and hippocampus), and the medial temporal lobe. Anatomical injuries corrrespond to clinical symptoms. Damage to the brain stem affects consciousness and results in cardiorespiratory failure, while damage to the limbic area results in elevated body temperature, diuretic hormonal abnormalities, ataxia and cognitive and memory impairments (hippocampus and amygdala), and damage to the temporal lobe contributes to speech difficulties. HSV, VZV, CMV, and HIV can induce panencephalitis, and RNA viruses elicit patchy-nodular types. ADEM might follow febrile illnesses or immunization (Hoshino et al.
2012; Steiner et al.
2010). In pediatric patients, tuberculous meningitis (Steiner et al.
2010) and HSV-1, HSV-2, VZV, and CMV infection (Ibrahim et al.
2005) must be excluded. In Japan, influenza virus was shown to be the most common pathogen in cases of encephalopathy, followed by HHV-6 and rotavirus (Hoshino et al.
2012). In another study, HSV-1, VZV, and enteroviruses were found as the most common etiological agents (de Ory et al.
2013). ANE usually following influenzavirus A or enterovirus infections tends to cause bilateral, sometimes hemorrhagic, injury to the thalami. Its familial form is associated with mutations in the nuclear pore protein RANBP2 (refs in Fay et al.
2015). The risk for HAdV-associated encephalitis has been recognised in children with unrelated or cord blood HSCT, GVHD grades III–IV, and lymphopenia. In contrast to HHV-6 and 7, strict isolation is necessary to prevent horizontal transmission from fecal or urine contamination (Matthes-Martin et al.
2012; Mynarek et al.
2013). These data show the importance of differential diagnosis in handling patients and protecting the health care staff from acquiring nosocomial infection. Occasionally, bacterial superinfection (Ljungman
2002) or infection of other organs associated with underlying diseases have to be recognised and treated (Holden and Vas,
2007; Venancio et al.,
2014). Death of the patient could be due to an intercurrent infecton (Imataki and Uemura
2015). Clearly, there is a need for further studies on the etiological role and interaction of unrelated neurotropic viruses especially in cases with atypical clinical manifestations (Chapenko et al.
2012a).