Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis in a child with chikungunya virus infection

An 8-year-old boy was admitted to the Pediatric ward with high fever and severe arthritis of 4 days duration. Chikungunya virus serology was positive. As he became afebrile one week after admission, he developed acute onset right sided hemiparesis and suffered from one episode of generalized tonic clonic seizure. The next day he developed flaccid quadriplegia, loss of all sensory modalities below the C5 dermatome and urinary retention. After 4 weeks of shock stage, spasticity appeared in all 4 limbs. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain and spine showed extensive areas of demyelination-suggestive of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). He was treated with intravenous methyl prednisolone for 5 days, followed by oral prednisolone for 6 weeks. He was left with gross neurodeficits, including confinement to a wheel chair, persistent sensory loss and need for bladder catheterization.