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Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004;158:58.

Since the mid 1990s, several hundreds of cases of acute encephalopathy have been reported in Japanese children with influenza. These cases have been characterized by fever and rapid onset of encephalopathy, resulting in a high frequency of neurological sequelae and mortality. Most of the children have had laboratory-confirmed evidence of influenza virus infection.

To determine if a similar pattern of influenza-associated encephalopathy cases is occurring in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is requesting information from health care providers on any case meeting the following criteria:

• <18 years old
  
• Altered mental status, or personality change, lasting >24 hours, occurring within 5 days of the onset of an acute febrile respiratory illness
  
• Laboratory or rapid diagnostic test evidence of acute influenza virus infection
  
• Diagnosed in the United States