[Coxsackie B2 virus fatal meningoencephalitis in a student].

OBJECTIVE

To present the case of a girl who was previously healthy but had fatal evolution due to Coxsackie B2 viral meningoencephalitis.

METHODS

The authors describe the case of a female child with fatal meningoencephalitis caused by Coxsackie B2 virus and present a review of the literature (Medline and Lilacs).

RESULTS

The girl was eight years old when she presented meningoencephalitis with bad evolution, leading to death on the 32nd day of internation. The exams showed positive serologic reaction to Coxsackie B2. The virus taken from two stool samples was isolated. The CRF exam showed an increase four times higher on Coxsackie B2 titulation.

CONCLUSION

The death of healthy patients with enteroviral encephalitis, as described here, is rarely dealt with in the medical literature, perhaps because of lack of clinic suspicion. This case tries to drive attention to the importance of an early etiologic diagnosis in the meningoencephalities and the search for specific etiological treatment.