Encephalitis: Corona infection increases the risk of encephalitis
Created: 09/15/2022, 13:46
By: Constantin Hoppe
Patients with a severe course of the corona virus have an increased risk of brain inflammation.
(Iconic photo) © Peter Kovalev/Imago
A corona infection can result in inflammation of the brain as a late consequence.
A new study shows a significantly higher mortality rate.
Frankfurt – The Sars-CoV-2 corona virus can also affect the nervous system and cause serious damage.
Although Covid-19 primarily affects the respiratory system, recent studies have reported the occurrence of neurological disorders such as stroke associated with Covid-19 infection.
The occurrence of brain inflammation (encephalitis) is also one of the post-Covid consequences.
A new study by the National University of Singapore and the University of Bristol (Great Britain) has now looked at the connection between corona and encephalitis.
Although encephalitis is a rare complication of Covid-19, when it occurs it leads to significant mortality, according to the study.
Severely ill corona patients have a higher risk of developing encephalitis as a complication of the infection.
Possible complication of Corona: Specific symptoms indicate encephalitis
If a corona infection progresses with symptoms, patients often complain about headaches, tiredness, exhaustion, but also about smell and taste disorders.
According to specialists from the Clinic for Neurology at the Klinikum Rechts der Isar of the Technical University of Munich, around a third of corona patients suffer from such neurological complaints.
In much rarer cases, strokes or inflammation of the brain can also occur.
encephalitis | |
|---|---|
medical term: | encephalitis |
Causes: | Various viral diseases, such as HIV, measles and Sars-CoV-2, but also |
Frequency: | 640 to 1200 cases per year in Germany (Source: German Society for Neurology) |
Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain that occurs when a virus directly infects the brain or when a virus, vaccine, or something else triggers inflammation.
This is one of the reasons why a measles vaccination was introduced in day care centers.
Encephalitis is a serious disease: If left untreated, the mortality rate can be up to 70 percent, depending on what caused the encephalitis.
Recovery from viral encephalitis can take a long time.
For some sufferers, this never fully occurs.
According to the medical manual MSD Manua
l , whether the disease is fatal depends on
its cause and how quickly it is treated.
With prompt treatment, however, the chances of recovery are very good.
These specific symptoms can be used to identify post-corona encephalitis
headache
personality changes or confusion
seizures
paralysis or numbness
Drowsiness that can progress to a coma or death
(
Source: MSD Manual)
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Encephalitis after a corona infection: Significantly higher mortality rate from encephalitis
For their Covid-19 study, researchers from Singapore and Great Britain evaluated the data from 23 studies with results from 129,008 patients, including 138 with encephalitis.
The result: Only 0.215 percent of corona patients develop encephalitis.
However, if you look at the patients with severe courses - i.e. those who had to be treated in intensive care units - the probability of encephalitis as a result increases to 6.7 percent.
The average mortality rate for Covid-19 with encephalitis was 13.4 percent - almost four times that of other corona patients at 3.4 percent.
The authors of the study therefore advise targeted monitoring of seriously ill patients with a SARS-CoV-2 infection, with particular attention to possible signs of encephalitis.
Heart doctors also warn of the consequences of Covid-19, because heart diseases can also occur as a result of a corona infection.
(Constantin Hoppe)
