Epidemiological Survey of Enteroviral Meningitis in Children Younger than 14 Years in Ahvaz

Aseptic meningitis is one of the most common infections of central nervous system. More than 80 % of all cases of aseptic meningitis are estimated to be caused by enteroviruses. In our cross-sectional study, enteroviral meningitis was assessed in children younger than 14 years hospitalized with the diagnosis of aseptic meningitis in the pediatric infectious ward of Ahvaz Abozar hospital, Iran, from November 2004 to November 2005. We ascertained of enteroviral meningitis of 57 CSF samples (35 males and 22 females) by RT-PCR and HeLa cell culture. of the 57 CSF samples tested by RTPCR, 30 samples (52.63 %) were positive for enteroviruses and of the 35 CSF samples inoculated on HeLa cells, 10 specimens (28.57 %) were positive for enteroviruses. The average age of 30 children with positive results for enteroviruses was 3 years. The rate of enteroviral meningitis in the males was higher than in females (56.7 % versus 43.3 % respectively) but there was no significant statistical difference between males and females (p>0.05). The highest incidence of enteroviral meningitis was determined in autumn (47%) but we couldn't detect any enteroviral meningitis during the summer. Finding of this study represents enteroviral meningitis is the most common cause of aseptic meningitis in Ahvaz city. Early diagnosis and understanding of the role of viruses in aseptic meningitis will help physicians to manage the patients suffering from aseptic meningitis and planning for prevention of this syndrome.