Herpesvirus hominisEncephalitis in Michigan

Abstract

Of 13 patients who had Herpesvirus hominis encephalitis in Michigan during a 30-month period six were seen within 13 months at a single medical center and treated with idoxuridine. In four patients cerebrospinal fluids were normal, but the electroencephalogram was abnormal in every patient. Biopsies of the brain in five patients revealed H. hominis in two and intranuclear inclusions in one. Therapy was based on a presumptive clinical diagnosis, later confirmed by a striking rise in complement-fixing antibodies. Four of the six treated patients have recovered and resumed all their usual activities. Idoxuridine appears to be effective therapy for this devastating form of encephalitis.