Detection of #LaCrosse Virus #RNA in Clinical #Specimens Obtained from #Children with La Crosse Infection
Highlights • Viremia in children with La Crosse Virus infection is transient; viral RNA was detected in only 3.2% of sera • Detection of La Crosse Virus RNA in respiratory samples is slightly higher at 21.7% and may reflect the temporal distribution of the virus after infection • NAAT has limited utility in routine diagnosis of La Crosse Virus encephalitis in children but may still be useful in cases with delayed seroconversion Abstract Background La Crosse virus (LACV), a member of family Peribunyaviridae, genus Orthobunyavirus , is the leading cause of neuroinvasive arboviral infection in children in the United States . Diagnosis relies on detecting specific antibodies (IgG or IgM), a 4-fold titer rise or seroconversion, in patients with compatible presentations. NAAT used for LACV detection has largely been limited to mosquito, animal models or postmortem brain tissue. There is a lack of data on the performance of NAATs in clinical specimens from living patie...