HSE is thought to be caused by the transmission of virus from a peripheral site on the face following HSV-1 reactivation, along a nerve axon, to the brain. The virus lies dormant in the ganglion of the trigeminal cranial nerve, but the reason for reactivation, and its pathway to gain access to the brain, remains unclear, though changes in the immune system caused by stress clearly play a role in animal models of the disease. The olfactory nerve may also be involved in HSE, which may explain its predilection for the temporal lobes of the brain, as the olfactory nerve sends branches there. In horses, a single-nucleotide polymorphism is sufficient to allow the virus to cause neurological disease; but no similar mechanism has been found in humans.
Herpesviral encephalitis
Japanese encephalitis
Viral encephalitis
Herpesviral meningitis
Tick-borne encephalitis
Eastern equine encephalitis
Fungal meningitis
Postvaccinal encephalitis