viral pathogens responsible for meningoencephalitis among children in two capital cities of northeastern iran

Background: meningoencephalitis is a significant cause of mortality in children worldwide, and viral pathogens are the most common cause. this study conducted in northeastern iran, where csf samples were collected from children under 14 with meningitis and encephalitis symptoms. objectives: the goal was to identify viral pathogens in the csf, including enteroviruses, varicella-zoster virus (vzv), mumps virus, west nile virus (wnv), herpes simplex virus (hsv), adenovirus, cytomegalovirus (cmv), and poliovirus. methods: this cross-sectional study gathered 120 cerebrospinal fluid (csf) samples from three tertiary university hospitals in northeastern iran. the participants were children presenting with one or more symptoms related to meningitis and encephalitis, including headache, fever, seizures, nausea, vomiting, or neck stiffness. nucleic acids were extracted from these samples, and two panels of multiplex pcr were employed to identify the most prevalent pathogens. results: in a study of 120 csf samples from children in northeastern iran with symptoms of meningitis and encephalitis, 72 samples tested positive for viral infections. the most common viral pathogen was enterovirus, found in 48.6% of the positive samples. other viruses detected were hsv and cmv, each at 13.9%, vzv at 9.7%, adenovirus and wnv, both at 5.5%, and poliovirus types 1 and 2, and poliovirus types 3 and 4 each at 1.4%. no samples tested positive for the mumps virus. the findings indicate that viral agents were present in over 50% of the cases studied and that enteroviruses are the most common cause of meningitis in this region. despite their prevalence, viral pathogens are not routinely checked in clinical tests. conclusions: our findings show that viral agents were present in over 50% of the cases. despite their prevalence, viral pathogens are not routinely checked in clinical tests.