Honduran man with Zika infection presented with sensory nerve damage
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 31, 2016 (HealthDay News) — In a case report published online Aug. 21 in the Journal of Neurological Sciences, researchers confirm the first case of Zika-associated sensory polyneuropathy in an adult male.
Marco T. Medina, M.D., dean of the faculty of medical sciences at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Honduras in Tegucigalpa, and colleagues present the case of a 62-year-old man from Honduras who was infected with Zika while traveling in Venezuela. The man developed sensory polyneuropathy while the infection was active. His condition took several months to improve.
This is the first confirmed case of sensory polyneuropathy tied to Zika infection, according to report coauthor John England, M.D., chairman of the World Federation of Neurology’s Work Group on Zika. England is also chairman of neurology at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans.
“Clinicians should be aware that Zika virus infection can also cause an acute infectious sensory polyneuropathy,” Medina said in a Louisiana State news release. “Our patient is the first confirmed Zika infection case report associated with an acute sensory polyneuropathy which began during the acute infectious phase. This suggests a probable direct viral inflammatory process affecting sensory nerves, but an autoimmune etiology cannot be definitely excluded.”
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