infectious diseases
Overview of Enterovirus Infections
Introduction
Enteroviruses, along with rhinoviruses (see Common Cold ) and human parechoviruses, are a genus of picornaviruses ( Enteroviruses include Coxsackieviruses A1 to A21, A24, and B1 to 6 Echoviruses (enteric cytopathic human orphan viruses) 1 to 7, 9, 11 to 21, 24 to 27, and 29 to 33 Enteroviruses 68 to 71, 73 to 91, and 100 to 101 Polioviruses types 1 to 3 Enteroviruses are shed in respiratory secretions and stool and sometimes are present in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of infected patients. Infection is usually transmitted by direct contact with respiratory secretions or stool but can be transmitted by contaminated environmental sources (eg, water). Enteroviral diseases or epidemics in the United States are more common in summer and fall. Infection during pregnancy can result in perinatal transmission and cause severe disseminated Neonatal infection , which may include hepatitis or hepatic necrosis, meningoencephalitis, myocarditis, or a combination of these, and can lead to sepsis or death. Intact humoral immunity and B-cell function are required for control of enteroviral disease. Severe enteroviral infections (often manifesting as a slowly progressive meningoencephalitis, dermatomyositis, and/or hepatitis) occur in patients with defects in B lymphocyte function such as X-linked Agammaglobulinemia , but usually not in those with other immune deficiencies. 