While some issues, such as a recent history of exposure to substantive toxins, can foretell the diagnosis, for a patient with dyphagia the diagnosis may be less obvious, as the dyphagic patient may have caustic gastric contents damaging the lungs which may or may not have progressed to bacterial infection. The following tests help determine how severely the lungs are affected:

Blood gases (measurement of how much oxygen and carbon dioxide are in your blood)
CT scan of chest
Lung function studies (tests to measure breathing and how well the lungs are functioning)
X-ray of the chest
Swallowing studies to check if stomach acid is the cause of pneumonitis

Treatment
Treatment is focused on reversing the cause of inflammation and reducing symptoms. Corticosteroids may be given to reduce inflammation, often before long-term scarring occurs. Antibiotics are usually not helpful or needed, unless there is a secondary infection. Oxygen therapy may be helpful. References


== External links ==
Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV) is a zoonotic flavivirus endemic to northern Australia and Papua New Guinea. It is the causal agent of Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE; previously known as Australian encephalitis or Australian X disease). In humans, it can cause permanent neurological disease or death. MVEV is related to Kunjin virus, which has a similar ecology, but a lower morbidity rate. Although the arbovirus is endemic to Northern Australia, it has occasionally spread to the southern states during times of heavy rainfall during the summer monsoon season via seasonal flooding of the Murray-Darling River system. These outbreaks can be "...decades apart, with no or very few cases identified in between". Vector
MVEV is a mosquito-borne virus that is maintained in a bird-mosquito-bird cycle. Water birds from the order Ciconiiformes, including herons and cormorants, provide the natural reservoir for MVEV. The major mosquito vector is Culex annulirostris. Human infection occurs only through bites from infected mosquitoes; the virus cannot be transmitted from person to person. History
The first epidemics of MVE occurred in 1917 and 1918 in Southeastern Australia following years of high rainfall. The virus was isolated from human samples in 1951 during an epidemic in the Murray Valley, Australia.Epidemics usually occur due to either infected birds or mosquitoes migrating from endemic areas to non-endemic areas. The New South Wales government has placed sentinel flocks of chickens near known bird breeding sites as an early warning system. These flocks are tested for MVE during the mosquito breeding season. Presentation
The majority of MVEV infections are sub-clinical, i.e.