Both encephalitis and meningitis can lead to fever, but not all patients experience fever, and the presentation varies depending on the causative factor.
Encephalitis is an acute inflammation of the brain and is commonly caused by viral infections, such as herpes simplex virus (HSV) and West Nile virus; bacteria or parasites can also cause encephalitis, such as meningococcus, pneumococcus, and toxoplasma gondii; and in a small percentage of patients, it may be caused by fungal infections.
In most patients with encephalitis, extracerebral symptoms such as fever, malaise, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and rash may be present at the beginning of the infection. The specific type of fever is related to the pathogen, for example, herpes simplex virus encephalitis may have fever (38℃~40℃) in the prodromal stage.
Meningitis is mainly caused by infection of the meninges, which can be categorized into purulent meningitis caused by bacterial infection, viral meningitis caused by viral infection, tuberculous meningitis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, and novel cryptococcal meningitis caused by fungal infection.
Patients usually present with general manifestations such as fever, headache, neck stiffness, nausea and vomiting. Neurologic dysfunction (e.g., impaired consciousness, slurred speech, convulsions, etc.) may also be manifested. Among them, the fever of tuberculous meningitis is low fever, which manifests as 37.3~38℃. Bacterial meningitis is mostly high fever, around 39℃.
The source of infection invades different parts of the symptoms are also different, such as invasion of meningitis appeared head and neck pain, etc., invasion of the brain parenchyma appeared Jisheng Studios convulsions and other symptoms.
It is recommended that patients with fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, head and neck stiffness and other symptoms promptly consult a doctor, if some patients do not have fever should also pay attention to the condition of the timely consultation, after a clear diagnosis and active treatment.