Anti-viral Therapy

Viral meningitis is rarely serious but a lumbar puncture is necessary to differentiate it from bacterial meningitis.  There is no specific treatment for viral meningitis although anti-viral therapy may be used for some severe cases of this disease.  Antiretroviral treatment may be used for HIV-infected patients with meningitis and intravenous acyclovir may be used if meningitis is associated with herpes simplex type I or II or varicella.  There is no specific anti-viral therapy for enteroviruses (the most common cause of viral meningitis), although new drugs that target these viruses are being developed.