Equine encephalitis at the Children's Hospital Dr. Hernan Esquivel: Literature and case review

Abstract

Introduction: In June 2019 a new Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) and Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) outbreak emerged in Panamá in patients coming from the same area. The infection has a large spectrum of symptoms being able to lead to severe encephalitis. This article aims to analyze the characteristics of the cases in which it was serological confirmation, focusing on the population under 16 years old attended at the Hospital del Niño Dr. José Renán Esquivel.
Material and methods: An observational retrospective study was carried out among the cases reported as encephalitis by the surveillance system of the Epidemiology Service at Hospital del Niño Dr. José Renán Esquivel from Panama in June and July 2019.
Results: 12 cases were notified as suspected encephalitis cases, 6 of them were confirmed with serology tests as Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) and/or Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE). All cases had a prodromic phase with fever and in all cases patients had seizures. A 66.6% of patients needed mechanic ventilation. There was one decease.

Conclusions: Equine encephalitis virus can cause severe neurological symptoms and even lead to death. Since there is no specific treatment, it’s necessary a close epidemiologic surveillance as well as more investigation in the prevention of this infection trough new vaccines.