Dengue encephalitis in a 3-month-old para-neonate: a rare presentation of severe dengue

Abstract

Dengue fever is a common viral illness seen worldwide with a higher incidence in tropical regions. The illness may present as a mild illness with nonspecific symptoms to a life-threatening severe dengue. Severe dengue is usually seen in secondary dengue infection which is uncommon during infancy. As the dengue virus is classically not known to be a neurotropic virus, neurological manifestations are atypical presentations of severe dengue. The child may present with fever, seizures, altered mental status and focal neurological deficit. Diagnosis is confirmed in presence of clinical features with isolation of the virus in serum and/or cerebrospinal fluid. We present a case of a 3-month-old para-neonate who presented with fever, seizures and irritability without evidence of other causes of encephalitis with serum dengue NS1 and IgM positive and normal CSF routine analysis.