Diagnosis and analysis of unexplained cases of childhood encephalitis in Australia using metatranscriptomic sequencing

Citation:
Li CX, Burrell R, Dale RC, Kesson A, Blyth CC, et al. Diagnosis and analysis of unexplained cases of childhood encephalitis in Australia using metatranscriptomic sequencing. J Gen Virol. 2022;103(4).

Keywords:
Metatranscriptomics; non-sterile sites; pathogen discovery; unexplained encephalitis; virus; Australia; child; polymerase chain reaction

Abstract:
Encephalitis is most often caused by a variety of infectious agents identified through diagnostic tests utilizing cerebrospinal fluid. We investigated the clinical characteristics and potential aetiological agents of unexplained encephalitis through metagenomic sequencing of residual clinical samples from multiple tissue types and independent clinical review.