What are enteroviruses? (STA BREAKING NEWS and ARCHIVES)

by pinkorchid , Brisbane , Australia, Thursday, October 09, 2014, 04:15

Hi All,

SNIP:-

Scientists have identified more than 120 types of enteroviruses, ranging from severe strains such as poliomyelitis and aseptic meningitis to the rhinovirus that causes the common cold. From 10 to 15 million infections take place annually in the U.S. according to Susan Gerber, the team lead for respiratory viruses at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A mix of enteroviruses circulate every year, although not all of them circulate every year.

Besides respiratory illnesses, Gerber said enteroviruses can cause "febrile rash illnesses such as hand foot and mouth disease, and neurologic illnesses such as aseptic meningitis."

"Most infected people are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms," she said during a conference call.

Some enteroviruses go into the gastrointestinal tract and some infect the central nervous system, Tokarz points out.

Enteroviruses tend to circulate in the summer and fall, the Public Health Agency of Canada said.
What's known about enterovirus D68?

Gerber describes enterovirus D68 as "similar to rhinoviruses both genetically and by the illness that it causes."

At the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, scientists have confirmed there are five sub-strains or "clades" of enterovirus D68 circulating in multiple provinces across Canada.

"Through genetic analysis of patient samples, the ... National Microbiology Laboratory has detected EV-D68 strains in Canada that are very similar to strains circulating in the United States, as well as other parts of the world, such as Europe," a spokesman told CBC News.

Scientists at the lab need to sequence the genome of the virus to distinguish enterovirus D68 from other types of enteroviruses and other common cold viruses, which can take three to five days after a sample is received, he added.

Tokarz says, "It remains to be seen whether this virus that's circulating in North America right now, whether it's a new clade, or whether it's a variant of a new clade, and what mutations it may have that may allow it to be more transmissible and pathogenic."

He describes D68's cellular appearance as not circular but with many different sides.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/enterovirus-d68-faq-on-an-emerging-respiratory-pathogen-1.2786890

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Pinkorchid