Neurologic manifestations of COVID-19 include anosmia, ageusia, encephalopathy, agitation, confusion, ischemic strokes, Guillain–Barré syndrome, seizures, and hemorrhagic encephalitis. Although mechanisms of central nervous system (CNS) injury are likely diverse, direct viral invasion of the CNS has been demonstrated in case reports. Neurotropism of human coronaviruses (HCoVs) is therefore of great interest in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we present an autopsy-proven case of fatal human coronavirus (HCoV)-OC43 encephalitis in an infant with aplastic thymus and chronic T-cell lymphopenia. Clinicians should remain alert to the possibility of direct CNS invasion by human coronaviruses, including the novel pandemic SARS-CoV-2.

COVID-19 的神经系统表现包括嗅觉丧失、嗅觉丧失、脑病、激越、精神错乱、缺血性中风、格林-巴利综合征、癫痫发作和出血性脑炎。尽管中枢神经系统 (CNS) 损伤的机制可能多种多样，但病例报告已证实病毒直接侵入 CNS。因此，人类冠状病毒 (HCoV) 的嗜神经性在 COVID-19 大流行的背景下引起了极大的兴趣。在这里，我们介绍了一个经尸检证实的致命人类冠状病毒 (HCoV)-OC43 脑炎病例，该病例发生在一名患有再生障碍性胸腺和慢性 T 细胞淋巴细胞减少症的婴儿身上。临床医生应警惕人类冠状病毒直接侵入中枢神经系统的可能性，包括新型大流行病 SARS-CoV-2。