Follow-Up Studies of St. Louis Encephalitis in Florida: Sensorimotor Findings

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Abstract
From 1/2 to 5 yrs. after their acute illnesses, 96 survivors of 3 Florida outbreaks of St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) virus infections were evaluated in a follow-up study. Eighty of these were matched with comparison individuals on the 5 variables of age, sex, race, educational achievement, and occupational level. The results of some of the senscrimotor exami-nations are presented in this report. There were no differences between the groups in their visual acuity, color discrimination, or past-pointing abilities. However, the subjects had more difficulty than the controls on most of the balance and equilibrium tests, particularly walking a straight line and widening their lateral base of support. The ability to perform these tasks decreased with age in both groups but appeared to be exaggerated in the SLE survivors, although a majority of them reported that their motor disabilities were worse immediately following the acute illness and had gradually improved with time.