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Identifying new viral causes of encephalitis using VirScan technology

With VirScan, more than 1,000 viruses can be identified in serum from patients taken 6 weeks after infection, through the binding of antibodies to bacteriophages followed by DNA sequencing.

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In one third of encephalitis patients with a suspected infection, no causative agent is found. This makes it difficult to establish a diagnosis, start treatment, and inform the patient about the prognosis.

Together with researchers from Harvard Medical School, under the supervision of Prof. Steven Elledge, the Amsterdam UMC research team, under the supervision of Matthijs Brouwer, is applying a new technique called VirScan in patients to identify new viral causes of encephalitis.

Through the binding of antibodies to bacteriophages followed by DNA sequencing, VirScan can identify more than 1,000 viruses in serum from patients collected 6 weeks after infection.

A large part of these viruses has not previously been studied as a cause of encephalitis. By retrospectively identifying the virus in this group of patients, researchers can then use PCR to examine whether these viruses can also be identified in the acute phase in cerebrospinal fluid samples from encephalitis patients in I PACE. Ultimately, this will improve diagnostics in the acute phase and may lead to better treatment and outcomes.