An increase in pediatric brain abscesses last year triggered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to launch an investigation into the cause of the upswing in cases.
A brain abscess is a pus-filled pocket in the brain caused by a bacterial or fungal infection. Medical professionals report that these organisms enter the brain by way of infection in the skull, the bloodstream, or as a result of a head injury.
United Kingdom National Health Service reported that, while cases of infection of the brain are rare, given the defenses the body has in place, bacteria can bypass these defenses. This abscess can occur due to another nearby infection, such as a middle ear infection, sinusitis, or mastoiditis, an infection in the inner ear.
Symptoms of a brain abscess can include “significant fevers, severe headaches, lethargy, perhaps even neurologic deficits, like speech or language difficulties or weakness,” according to Dr. Taryn Bragg, a pediatric neurosurgeon at the Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The CDC began looking into the matter after three children in California were hospitalized with brain abscesses in May of 2022. Since then, other states have been reporting increases in cases.
The Southern Nevada Health District released a public health advisory for Clark County on January 12, revealing that recorded cases of brain abscesses in children had more than tripled last year compared to previous years.
The health advisory detailed that 17 cases among children up to 18 years old were reported in 2022, compared to an average of just five cases annually in the county in previous years.
Among these cases, 76% were males, 76% were diagnosed with sinusitis, and 26% were diagnosed with mastoiditis during their hospitalization.
While most of these cases required a craniotomy to drain the fluid, none resulted in fatalities. However, if left untreated, a brain abscess can result in brain damage and death.
Bragg reported the cases to the Southern Nevada Health District. She told Fox News that she and other medical professionals had begun to notice the rise in cases in March 2022.
“The vast majority of children presented with sinus infections that fairly rapidly progressed to abscesses forming in the brain,” said Bragg, according to Fox News.
Bragg said most of the patients were infected with the Streptococcus intermedius, a bacterium typically found in the respiratory and nasal cavity. However, no connection to environmental factors in southern Nevada was discovered.
“It often doesn’t result in infections, but it certainly can — and it’s the most common organism that will result in brain abscesses,” said Bragg, according to Fox News.
Dr. Shaun Rodgers, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York, told NBC News that his hospital is also experiencing an above-average number of cases.
“It’s not just us. It’s hospitals all over the country,” said Rodgers, according to NBC News. “When we’re talking to colleagues, it seems like everyone is feeling that we’ve definitely had an uptick in these types of infections.”
“Discussions with clinicians in multiple states raised concerns about a possible increase in pediatric intracranial infections, particularly those caused by Streptococcus intermedius, during the past year and the possible contributing role of SARS-CoV-2 infection,” the CDC stated in a report last September.
However, it is difficult to get a clear picture of the actual number of cases, as doctors can voluntarily report cases to their local health departments but are not required to do so.
