Except bacterial meningitis, the agents causing acute central nervous system (CNS) infections in
children are disclosed in only approximately half of the cases, and even less in encephalitis. We
studied the potential of modern microbiological assays to improve this poor situation.
Methods: In a prospective study during 3 years, all children attending hospital with suspected CNS
infection were examined using a wide collection of microbiological tests using samples from the
cerebrospinal fluid, serum, nasal swabs and stoo