equine encephalomyelitis

encephalomyelitis

[en-sef″ah-lo-mi″ĕ-li´tis] inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.acute disseminated encephalomyelitis an acute or subacute encephalomyelitis or myelitis occurring most commonly following an acute viral infection, especially measles, but sometimes occurring without a recognizable antecedent. Clinical manifestations include fever, headache, vomiting, and drowsiness progressing to lethargy and coma; tremor, seizures, and paralysis may also occur. Mortality ranges from 5 to 20 per cent, and many survivors have residual neurologic deficits.benign myalgic encephalomyelitis chronic fatigue syndrome.equine encephalomyelitis a type of encephalomyelitis in horses and mules, caused by an alphavirus and spread to humans by mosquitoes; it occurs in summer epizootics in the Western Hemisphere. Three forms are recognized: eastern, western, and Venezuelan. Called also equine encephalitis.equine encephalomyelitis, eastern a viral disease similar to western equine encephalomyelitis, but occurring in a region extending from New Hampshire to Texas and as far west as Wisconsin, and in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and parts of Central and South America.equine encephalomyelitis, Venezuelan a viral disease of horses and mules, transmissible to humans; the causative agent was first isolated in Venezuela. The infection in humans resembles influenza, with little or no indication of nervous system involvement.equine encephalomyelitis, western a viral disease of horses and mules, communicable to humans, occurring chiefly as a meningoencephalitis with little involvement of the medulla oblongata or spinal cord; observed in the United States chiefly west of the Mississippi River.granulomatous encephalomyelitis a disease marked by granulomas and necrosis of the walls of the cerebral and spinal ventricles.postinfectious encephalomyelitis (postvaccinal encephalomyelitis) acute disseminated encephalomyelitis.

e·quine en·ceph·a·lo·my·e·li·tis

an acute, often fatal, virus disease of horses and mules transmitted by mosquitoes and characterized by central nervous system disturbances; in the U.S., this disease is typically caused by one of three alphaviruses, and their resulting diseases are designated western equine, eastern equine, and Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis; these viruses belong to the family Togaviridae and can also cause neurologic disease in humans. Synonym(s): equine encephalitis