A 9-year-old girl is brought to the emergency department following a 3-minute generalized seizure. She has had a fever with a worsening headache for 3 days. The girl has no medical problems and is not taking any medications. She lives with her parents and pet cat and has traveled to Canada and England. On physical examination, she is disoriented and has difficulty staying awake. Her speech is difficult to understand due to inappropriate word choice. She is admitted to the intensive care unit for further workup. The patient becomes unresponsive the following day and dies overnight. Autopsy reveals bilateral, hemorrhagic necrosis of the inferior and medial temporal lobes. This patient's condition was most likely caused by infection with which of the following?

Question

A 9-year-old girl is brought to the emergency department following a 3-minute generalized seizure.  She has had a fever with a worsening headache for 3 days.  The girl has no medical problems and is not taking any medications.  She lives with her parents and pet cat and has traveled to Canada and England.  On physical examination, she is disoriented and has difficulty staying awake.  Her speech is difficult to understand due to inappropriate word choice.  She is admitted to the intensive care unit for further workup.  The patient becomes unresponsive the following day and dies overnight.  Autopsy reveals bilateral, hemorrhagic necrosis of the inferior and medial temporal lobes.  This patient's condition was most likely caused by infection with which of the following?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Eductional Objective: Herpes simplex virus type 1 encephalitis is a potentially fatal complication from primary infection or reactivation of latent disease.  Nervous system invasion leads to necrosis of the temporal lobe, which can result in aphasia and personality changes in addition to classic features of encephalitis (eg, headache, fever, altered mental status, seizure).

A 9-Year-Old Girl Is Brought to the Emergency Department Following