What Is Viral Encephalitis?
4. Secondary Encephalitis.
Secondary encephalitis is a condition that is caused by a reaction to a viral infection elsewhere in the body. It is a type of autoimmune condition, which means that the patient’s own immune system begins to attack the very body it is supposed to be protecting. In secondary encephalitis, the presence of a virus elsewhere will cause the immune system to attack the brain’s cells.
It is not yet understood why the immune system starts to attack its own brain cells in this way, and autoimmune conditions in general are not well understood. Secondary encephalitis is also sometimes known as post-infection encephalitis. This is because it tends to happen 2 to 3 weeks after the initial infection took place.
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