Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis with Severe Manifestations, Missouri, USA

摘要

To the Editor: Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is an arenavirus maintained zoonotically in house mice (Mus musculus) and may also be carried by pet rodents, especially hamsters (1–3). Infection of healthy humans usually results in nonspecifi c febrile illness. However, LCMV infection can cause severe symptoms, including aseptic meningitis (4).Early data suggested <8% of central nervous system manifestations of viral etiology were caused by LCMV (5). In contrast, in a more recent study of 91 cases of encephalitis among persons with potential rodent contact, LCMV was not detected (6). We describe 2 recent unrelated LCMV infections with central nervous system manifestations, which were associated with rodent exposures, as a reminder that LCMV should be considered in cases of aseptic meningitis of unknown etiology