Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41911281›Full record

ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2026

Paralytic rabies outbreak mimicking guillain-Barré syndrome in French Amazonia.

Nathalie Deschamps, Claire Mayence, Perrine Parize, Maylis Douine, Clémentine Montagnac, Stephanie Houcke, Loïc Epelboin, Amina Nasri, Felix Djossou, Florence Larrous and 10 more

Abstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

20 authors.

Nathalie DeschampsNeurology Department, University Hospital of Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6202-5762
Claire MayenceIntensive Care Unit, University Hospital of Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Perrine ParizeInstitut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unit Lyssavirus Epidemiology and Neuropathology, National Reference centre for rabies, European Reference Laboratory for Emerging, rodent born and zoonotic viral diseases (EURL-ERZV), WHO rabies collaborating centre, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Maylis DouineDépartement de Recherche et d'Innovation en Santé Publique (DRISP), Centre d'Investigation Clinique Inserm 1424) University Hospital of Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Clémentine MontagnacNeurology Department, University Hospital of Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Stephanie HouckeIntensive Care Unit, University Hospital of Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Loïc EpelboinDépartement de Recherche et d'Innovation en Santé Publique (DRISP), Centre d'Investigation Clinique Inserm 1424) University Hospital of Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Amina NasriNeurology Department, University Hospital of Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Felix DjossouInfectious and Tropical Diseases Unit, University Hospital of Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Florence LarrousInstitut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unit Lyssavirus Epidemiology and Neuropathology, National Reference centre for rabies, European Reference Laboratory for Emerging, rodent born and zoonotic viral diseases (EURL-ERZV), WHO rabies collaborating centre, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Katherine Worsley-TonksInstitut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unit Lyssavirus Epidemiology and Neuropathology, National Reference centre for rabies, European Reference Laboratory for Emerging, rodent born and zoonotic viral diseases (EURL-ERZV), WHO rabies collaborating centre, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Karim HamicheForensic Medical Unit, University Hospital of Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Alessandra MonayaRadiology Department, University Hospital of Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Cyril RousseauRemote Health Care Centers, University Hospital of Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Samuel GavohedoRemote Health Care Centers, University Hospital of Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Kinan Drak AlsibaiDépartement de Recherche et d'Innovation en Santé Publique (DRISP), Centre d'Investigation Clinique Inserm 1424) University Hospital of Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Magalie DemarTropical Biome and immunopathology CNRS UMR-9017, Inserm U, Université de Guyane, French Guiana, France.
Bertrand de ToffolNeurology Department, University Hospital of Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Hervé BourhyInstitut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unit Lyssavirus Epidemiology and Neuropathology, National Reference centre for rabies, European Reference Laboratory for Emerging, rodent born and zoonotic viral diseases (EURL-ERZV), WHO rabies collaborating centre, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Hatem KallelIntensive Care Unit, University Hospital of Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn the Amazonian region, vampire bats are the primary reservoir of rabies virus, causing sporadic and lethal human rabies cases that often remain unnoticed. Managing human cases in this region is challenging and further complicated by atypical clinical forms and the potential exposure to various toxic compounds, particularly among gold miners.

methodsWe carried out clinical, electrical, biological and histological analysis of concurrent cases of progressive motor neuronopathy and fatal encephalitis in a context of regular exposure to bat bites of gold miners living in a small and remote gold mine camp in Amazonia, in French Guiana, South America.

findingsWe analyzed a spatio-temporal cluster of three suspected rabies cases in 2024 with a fatal outcome, with concomitant onset of acute bilateral lower-limb paralysis without demyelination, two of which occurred presumably two weeks after a bat-bite. Electroneuromyography suggested the involvement of the anterior horn of the spinal cord, as described in furious forms of rabies. None of the cases exhibited other cardinal signs of the furious form. Confirmation of rabies was obtained for them on sera and brain biopsies collected ante- and post-mortem respectively.

interpretationThe concurrent occurrence of disease, the axonal motor neuropathy mimicking the motor form of Guillain Barré syndrome in the context of paralytic rabies, lead to diagnostic-wandering. This underscores the importance of thinking about vampire bat rabies virus in the presence of any atypical neurological picture in patients living in exposed areas in Latin America.

Indexed as

Disease OutbreaksGuillain-Barre SyndromeRabiesAdultAnimalsBites and StingsChiropteraDiagnosis, DifferentialFemaleFrench GuianaHumansMaleMiddle AgedRabies virus

Identifiers

PMID41911281
PMCPMC13046258

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