Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis in Delhi.

Between 1989 and 1992 (to October), 65 patients of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis were referred to the Virology Laboratory of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, Delhi, from the major hospitals of Delhi. The cases were mainly residents of Delhi, but a few were from states bordering Delhi. The age group of affected cases ranged from 2 to 24 years. The disease (SSPE) was six times more common in males than in females. All but four patients below 3 years of age gave a past history of measles. No patient had history of measles vaccination. The titres of haemagglutination inhibition antibodies (HAI) to measles virus in serum of SSPE patients ranged from 1:8 to 1:2048 and in CSF it ranged from 1:4 to 1:64, while in the control group it ranged from 1:2 to 1:256 in serum and nil in CSF. The geometric mean titres in serum was 10-fold higher in serum and four-fold higher in CSF from SSPE cases as compared to control.