Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus meningitis after needlestick injury: a case report

Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control

Philip Eisermann¹  Fiona Pigny²  Pascal Cherpillod²  Anna-Friederike Marx³  Andreas F. Widmer⁴  Sarah Dräger⁴  Parham Sendi⁵ 

[1] 0000 0001 0701 3136, grid.424065.1, WHO Collaborating Centre for Arbovirus and Haemorrhagic Fever Reference and Research, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard-Nocht-Strasse 74, 20359, Hamburg, Germany;0000 0001 0721 9812, grid.150338.c, Laboratory of Virology, Department of Genetic and Laboratory Medicine, University Hospitals of Geneva, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1211, 14, Geneva, Switzerland;0000 0004 1937 0642, grid.6612.3, Department of Biomedicine – Haus Petersplatz, Division of Experimental Virology, University of Basel, 4009, Basel, Switzerland;grid.410567.1, Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Basel, Petersgraben 4, 4031, Basel, Switzerland;grid.410567.1, Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Basel, Petersgraben 4, 4031, Basel, Switzerland;0000 0001 0726 5157, grid.5734.5, Institute for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 18, 3010, Bern, Switzerland;

关键词: Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus;    Meningitis;    Needlestick injury;    Accidental infection;    RT-PCR;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13756-019-0524-4

来源: publisher

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundNeedlestick accidents while handling of infectious material in research laboratories can lead to life-threatening infections in laboratory personnel. In laboratories working with the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), the virus can be transmitted to humans through needlestick injury and lead to serious acute illness up to meningitis.Case presentationWe report of a case of LCMV meningitis in a laboratory worker who sustained a penetrating needlestick injury with a LCMV-contaminated hollow needle whilst disposing of a used syringe into the sharps waste bin. Four days after needlestick injury the laboratory worker developed a systemic disease: 11 days after exposure, she was diagnosed with meningitis with clinical signs and symptoms of meningismus, photophobia, nausea and vomiting, requiring hospitalisation. The PCR was positive for LCMV from the blood sample. 18 days after exposure, seroconversion confirmed the diagnosis of LCMV-induced meningitis with an increase in specific LCMV-IgM antibodies to 1:10′240 (day 42: 1:20′480). Ten weeks after exposure, a follow-up titre for IgM returned negative, whereas IgG titre increased to 1:20′480.ConclusionsThis is the first case report of a PCR-documented LCMV meningitis, coupled with seroconversion, following needlestick injury. It highlights the importance of infection prevention practices that comprise particularly well established safety precaution protocols in research laboratories handling this pathogenic virus, because exposure to even a small amount of LCMV can lead to a severe, life-threatening infection.

【 授权许可】

CC BY