Enteroviral meningitis at a pediatric hospital in Dakar (Senegal)

Introduction: Enteroviral meningitis is the main cause of meningitis for all causes combined. They are frequent and most often benign, but underdiagnosed due to the limited technical platforms of laboratories. This is why we deemed it important to carry out this study aimed at determination of the role of these viruses in aseptic meningitis at the pediatric hospital of Diamniadio in Dakar. Materials and methods: This was a prospective study covering the period from the 1st of January to the 31st of August 2017 involving 30 patients from the children’s hospital of Diamniadio. The cytochemical tests and the assessments of soluble antigens in the CSFs were carried out at the laboratory of the hospital of Diamniadio. The virological tests were carried out at the Pasteur Institute of Dakar. Results: All up, 30 aseptic CSFs were received by the laboratory during the study period. The patients were aged from 0 to 15 years. The analysis of the CSFs found an average protein concentration level of 1.15g/L and an average glucose level of 0.52g/L. No microbial organisms were detected by conventional bacteriological analyses. The virological analyses, on the other hand, allowed 9 Enteroviruses and 1 cytomegalovirus (CMV) to be found in the CSFs. Conclusion: Enteroviruses constitute a significant part of the etiologies of viral meningitis in Senegal. Larger scale studies are needed, however, to obtain a more accurate indication of the viral causes of meningitis in Senegal.