Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test CSF obtained from different regions of Rwanda for herpes simplex viruses (HSV) type 1 and 2 using a commercial multiplex PCR kit. CSF samples were obtained from patients with clinical suspicion of meningitis and encephalitis which may be caused by different microorganisms including herpes viruses. More than 80% of clear cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) submitted to two referral hospitals (King Faisal Hospital and University Teaching Hospital of Kigali) and to the National Reference Laboratory of Rwanda, were found to be negative forCryptococcus neoformans and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the only microorganisms tested at these facilities.

Key words: Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1), herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV2), cerebrospinal fluids, multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR), meningitis, encephalitis, Cryptococcus neoformans, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Rwanda.

Abbreviation

 CSF, Cerebrospinal fluid; HHV, human herpes virus; HSE, herpes simplex encephalitis; HSV, herpes simplex virus; PCR, polymerase chain reaction;CMV, cytomegalovirus; EBV, Epstein-Barr virus; VZV, varicella-zoster virus; CNS,central nervous system.