Acute Encephalitis Syndrome in India: Complexity of the Problem

Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) is an epidemiological term used to describe central nervous system disease due to infectious causative organism. AES is a serious condition needing critical care. High mortality rates and residual deficit in survivors also stresses the seriousness of the problem. AES occurs as a sporadic case or can be seen in the form of outbreaks. Many viral, nonviral causes have been investigated and identified in India with a sizeable number of cases still with unidentified causes. The review is aimed at compiling the reports from various laboratories in India to compare the incidence, seasonality and the complexity in diagnosis, management, and prevention.