Index

List of infectious disorders of the CNS classified according to aetiology

Bacterial Infections

Acute Bacterial Meningitis

  • Streptococcus pneumoniae
  • Neisseria meningitidis
  • Haemophilus influenzae type b
  • Group B Streptococcus (neonates)
  • Escherichia coli (neonates)
  • Listeria monocytogenes

Brain Abscess

  • Streptococcus species (e.g., Streptococcus milleri)
  • Staphylococcus aureus
  • Anaerobes (e.g., Bacteroides, Fusobacterium)
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Tuberculous Meningitis

  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Neuroborreliosis

  • Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease)

Neurosyphilis

  • Treponema pallidum

Listeriosis

  • Listeria monocytogenes

Other Bacterial Infections

  • Rickettsia species (Rocky Mountain spotted fever)
  • Brucella species (Brucellosis)
  • Bartonella henselae (Cat scratch disease with CNS involvement)

Viral Infections

Viral Meningitis

  • Enteroviruses (e.g., Coxsackievirus, Echovirus)
  • Mumps virus
  • Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2)

Viral Encephalitis

  • Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1)
  • Varicella-zoster virus (VZV)
  • Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)
  • Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
  • Enteroviruses
  • Arboviruses (e.g., West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, Zika virus)
  • Rabies virus

Congenital Viral Infections

  • Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
  • Rubella virus
  • Zika virus
  • Herpes simplex virus (neonatal HSV)

Progressive Viral Infections

  • Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) – Measles virus
  • Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) – JC virus

Fungal Infections

Chronic Meningitis

  • Cryptococcus neoformans
  • Coccidioides immitis
  • Histoplasma capsulatum

Brain Abscess

  • Candida species
  • Aspergillus species
  • Zygomycetes (e.g., Rhizopus, Mucor)

Other Fungal Infections

  • Blastomyces dermatitidis
  • Sporothrix schenckii

Parasitic Infections

Protozoal Infections

  • Toxoplasma gondii (toxoplasmosis)
  • Plasmodium falciparum (cerebral malaria)
  • Naegleria fowleri (primary amoebic meningoencephalitis)
  • Acanthamoeba species (granulomatous amoebic encephalitis)

Helminthic Infections

  • Taenia solium (neurocysticercosis)
  • Schistosoma species
  • Echinococcus species (hydatid disease)
  • Angiostrongylus cantonensis (eosinophilic meningitis)

Prion Diseases

  • Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)
  • Fatal familial insomnia
  • Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome
  • Kuru

Mixed or Undetermined Etiology

  • Post-infectious encephalitis (e.g., acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, ADEM)
  • Infectious-triggered autoimmune encephalitis (e.g., anti-NMDAR encephalitis following viral infections)