Arbovirus-Associated Guillain-Barré Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Characteristics, Subtypes, and Vaccine Associations.

Authors

Eman Taha Osman Ali, Pierre Gashema, Patrick Gad Iradukunda, Emmanuel Edwar Siddig, Claude Mambo Muvunyi

Published in

Immunity, inflammation and disease. Volume 14. Issue 7. Pages e70483.

Abstract

Arboviral infections are increasingly recognized as triggers of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), yet the clinical spectrum, subtype distribution, and strength of association across different arboviruses remain incompletely characterized. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the epidemiology, clinical features, and outcomes of arbovirus-associated GBS.
PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched through early 2025 following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Observational studies were included in the quantitative meta-analysis, while case reports and case series were synthesized qualitatively. Random-effects models were used to estimate pooled prevalence, odds ratios, and clinical outcomes.
One hundred studies were included, comprising 74 case reports/case series, 19 prevalence studies, and seven case-control studies. The pooled prevalence of GBS among individuals with arboviral infection was 1% (95% CI: 0.3%-3.3%), whereas 37% (95% CI: 22%-54%) of patients with GBS had laboratory evidence of recent arboviral infection. Arboviral co-infections occurred in 16% (95% CI: 8%-31%) of confirmed cases. Case-control studies demonstrated a significant association between Zika virus infection and GBS (OR = 8, 95% CI: 2-34). Qualitative synthesis showed frequent intensive care admission, mechanical ventilation, disability, and mortality. Demyelinating subtypes predominated in Zika virus-associated GBS, whereas axonal variants were more common following Japanese encephalitis virus infection.
Multiple arboviruses are associated with GBS, with the strongest evidence for Zika virus. Arbovirus-associated GBS frequently results in severe neurological outcomes, highlighting the need for standardized diagnostics, enhanced surveillance, and prospective multicenter studies to improve understanding of disease mechanisms and optimize patient management.

PMID:
42411059
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 07 Jul 2026.

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