Encephalitis is a medical term that refers to an inflammation of the brain . Primary encephalitis describes the situation where the cause of the encephalitis is known and is believed to be responsible for the patient's symptoms. Post-infectious encephalitis is also known as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. This describes a situation where the patient has recovered recently from an illness, and develops encephalitis at a subsequent date.
Unspecified encephalitis describes the situation where the cause of the encephalitis is unknown.
The symptoms of encephalitis vary depending on the cause of the encephalitis. The central nervous system effects can be very mild and produce symptoms no worse than a headache, or they can be very severe and result in coma or death. Depending on the cause of the encephalitis, other body systems may also be affected. Encephalitis is a rare but very serious disease. Many of the causes of encephalitis are communicable and, if one case of encephalitis is diagnosed within a community, appropriate steps may need to be taken immediately to prevent the further spread of the disease.