LAUSR

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections are very frequent in paediatric patients. The main clinical manifestation is infectious mononucleosis (IM).1,2 The age of primary infection varies between different regions: in developed countries, between 80% and 100% of all affected children are aged 3 to 6 years old, and most of them are asymptomatic.1 Once the primary infection has occurred, the virus will remain latent in the human host for life.1,2 In children and adolescents, IM is typically associated with such symptoms as fever, fatigue, general unease, acute pharyngitis, lymphadenopathy, and hepatosplenomegaly. In immunocompetent patients, IM is usually self-limiting and rarely associated with complications.1,2 Around 1% to 18% of patients with IM experience neurological complications; these are more frequent in the acute stage of the disease and rare in the final stage.1—3 In paediatric patients, IM may present with central nervous system involvement (aseptic meningitis, meningoencephalitis, and encephalitis) either as the sole symptom of the disease or before the disease itself develops. Therefore, EBV infection must be regarded as a potential cause of acute meningitis regardless of its associated symptoms.1,4—7 However, other complications have also been described: cerebellitis, cranial nerve palsy, optic neuritis, GuillainBarré syndrome, hemiplegia, and transverse myelitis.1,3 We present the case of a healthy 6-year-old patient with a 20-day history of fever. She was initially diagnosed with pharyngoand gingivostomatitis. The patient had persistent headache, photophobia, excessive