Detection of Human Bocavirus in the Cerebrospinal Fluid of Children With Encephalitis

We report 4 children with encephalitis associated with hu-man bocavirus (HBoV) 1 or 2. All children were severely underweight, and 2 died; 1 of them had a matching HBoV2 nucleotide sequence isolated from serum and bocavirus like particles in the cerebrospinal fluid that were observed with electron microscopy. No further pathogens were detected in the cerebrospinal fluid of these patients. Encephalitis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In the industrialized countries of Europe and America, the annual incidence of acute encephalitis is 7.3 cases per 100 000 persons [1]. Up to 71 % of these patients experience lasting sequelae, and up to 7.4 % die [1, 2]. A myriad of in-fectious agents is associated with encephalitis, such as herpes simplex virus, which is common in adults, and the varicella zoster virus and enterovirus, which are common in children [2]