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REVIEW article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1396915

Review of the aetiologies of central nervous system infections in Vietnam

Provisionally accepted
Hannah Elizabeth Brindle Hannah Elizabeth Brindle 1,2*Marc Choisy Marc Choisy 3,4Robert Matthew Christley Robert Matthew Christley 1Neil French Neil French 1MIchael John Griffiths MIchael John Griffiths 1Thai Pham Quang Thai Pham Quang 5H Rogier van Doorn H Rogier van Doorn 2Behzad Nadjm Behzad Nadjm 2,6
  • 1 Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
  • 2 Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Vietnam (OUCRU), Hanoi, Vietnam
  • 3 Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
  • 4 Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, United Kingdom
  • 5 National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • 6 MRC Unit The Gambia, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, Fajara, Banjul, Gambia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Central nervous system (CNS) infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Vietnam, with many studies conducted to determine the aetiology. However, the cause remains unknown in a large proportion of cases. Although a systematic review of the aetiologies of CNS infections was conducted in the Mekong region, there are no known published reviews of the studies specifically in Vietnam. Here, we review the cause of CNS infections in Vietnam while also considering the potential aetiologies where a cause was not identified, based on the literature from the region. In particular, we focus on the most common pathogens in adults and children including Streptococcus suis which is associated with the consumption of raw pig products, and Japanese encephalitis virus, a mosquito-borne pathogen. We also discuss pathogens less commonly known to cause CNS infections in Vietnam but have been detected in neighbouring countries such as Orientia tsutsugamushi, Rickettsia typhi and Leptospira species and how these may contribute to the unknown causes in Vietnam. We anticipate that this review may help guide future public health measures to reduce the burden of known pathogens and broaden testing to help identify additional aetiologies.

    Keywords: central nervous system infection (CNSi), Vietnam, Japanese encephalitis, Streptococcus suis, Meningitis, Encephalitis

    Received: 06 Mar 2024; Accepted: 04 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Brindle, Choisy, Christley, French, Griffiths, Pham Quang, van Doorn and Nadjm. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hannah Elizabeth Brindle, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.