Objective: To study the clinical and laboratory characteristics of adult Japanese encephalitis (JE) patients in a JE outbreak in Yuncheng, Shanxi Province in 2006.
Method: All the clinical data from the Second People's Hospital in Yuncheng city were analyzed, part of patients' sera and cerebrospinal fluid were tested by serology and RT-PCR.
Results: The majority of patients were middle-aged and elderly, 77.8% (35/45) of the total cases were more than 40 years old. Severe and fulminating type cases accounted for 60.0% (27/45). Most patients had underlying diseases. IgM antibody to JE virus (JEV) in serum was positive in each of the 45 patients analyzed and 4-fold or greater rise in sera neutralization antibody titer were found in convalescent serum. JEV nucleic acid was positive in part of cerebrospinal fluid specimens.
Conclusion: Viral encephalitis emerged in Yuncheng city, Shanxi Province was Japanese encephalitis B, and most of the cases belonged to elderly group.