Stroke, infections, and New Mechanisms: a Narrative Review

Purpose of review: Infections as a risk factor for stroke remain an underrecognized issue within the medical community although this link was identified for more than 60 years. Preceding infections acting as triggers or even causal factors for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke were assessed notably for tropical infections. Recent findings: Since the COVID 19 pandemic, the interest for all kind of infectious agents (bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasitosis) is becoming an emerging concern worldwide. Surprisingly, this risk is addressed only in classification of causes concerning young adults and children. In addition, the seasonality of meteorological conditions (temperature, humidity, rain patterns) probably obscured the underlying causes such as epidemic infections and air pollution peaks (which can act in synergy, notably for respiratory infections). Summary: Greater recognition of infection-related stroke risk is essential, especially given the potential for increased incidence driven by global warming, the availability of biomarkers for risk assessment, and the opportunities improving preventive and therapeutic strategies.