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PLoS One 2021 14;16(5):e0251494. Epub 2021 May 14.

Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.

Encephalitis and meningitis (EM) are severe infections of the central nervous system associated with high morbidity and mortality. The etiology of EM in Kazakhstan is not clearly defined, so from February 1, 2017 to January 31, 2018 we conducted hospital-based syndromic surveillance for EM at the Shymkent City Hospital, in the South Kazakhstan region. All consenting inpatients meeting a standard case definition were enrolled. Read More

Am J Gastroenterol 2021 Apr;116(4):788-795

1Department of Chronic Diseases and Ageing, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway; 2Department of Paediatric, 2nd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and University Hospital Motol, Prague, Czech Republic; 3Department of Pediatrics, Østfold Hospital Trust, Grålum, Norway; 4Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Clinical Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg and Queen Silvia Children's Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden; 5Division of Institute Resources, Department of IT and e-health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway; 6Department of Pediatric Research, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Introduction: To test whether parechovirus and anellovirus, frequent enteric viruses, were associated with subsequent celiac disease (CD). We hypothesized that children who later developed CD would have increased frequency of parechovirus infections before transglutaminase 2 (TG2) antibody development. Anellovirus testing was exploratory, as a potential marker of immune status. Read More

Front Med (Lausanne) 2021 26;8:656699. Epub 2021 Apr 26.

Department of Clinical Laboratory, Zunyi Medical University Third Affiliated Hospital, Zunyi, China.

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) and herpangina (HA), two of the most common childhood infectious diseases, are associated with enteroviruses (EVs) infection. The aim of this study was to identify the molecular epidemiology of enterovirus causing HFMD/HA in Zunyi, China, during 2019, and to describe the clinical features of the cases. We collected the information on demographic and clinical characteristics, laboratory data of laboratory-confirmed EVs associated HFMD/HA cases in Zunyi Medical University Third Affiliated Hospital between March 1 and July 31, 2019. Read More

Case Rep Psychiatry 2021 23;2021:6687735. Epub 2021 Apr 23.

Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany.

Viral encephalitis often presents with severe illness, headache, fever, behavioral changes, altered level of consciousness, and focal neurologic deficits. One of the most feared kind of virus encephalitis is herpes simplex encephalitis; however, other central virus infections are also capable of presenting with psychiatric symptoms. Here, we report the case of a 22-year-old woman with first time visual and auditory hallucinations due to an acute enterovirus encephalitis with no cerebrospinal fluid abnormalities but a positive PCR result for enterovirus (ECHO). Read More

World J Gastroenterol 2021 Apr;27(16):1691-1715

Transplant Department, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL 33331, United States.

Viral infections affecting the liver have had an important impact on humanity, as they have led to significant morbidity and mortality in patients with acute and chronic infections. Once an unknown etiology, the discovery of the viral agents triggered interest of the scientific community to establish the pathogenesis and diagnostic modalities to identify the affected population. With the rapid scientific and technological advances in the last centuries, controlling and even curing the infections became a possibility, with a large focus on preventive medicine through vaccination. Read More

J Clin Virol 2021 Apr 24;139:104845. Epub 2021 Apr 24.

Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa and the National Health Laboratory Service, Anzio Road, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: Enteroviruses are amongst the most common causes of aseptic meningitis. Between November 2018 and May 2019, an outbreak of enterovirus-associated aseptic meningitis cases was noted in the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces, South Africa.

Objectives: To describe the epidemiology and phylogeography of enterovirus infections during an aseptic meningitis outbreak in the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa. Read More

Microb Pathog 2021 May 4;156:104941. Epub 2021 May 4.

Department of Microbiology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh; Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, 7408, Bangladesh. Electronic address:

The novel coronavirus infectious disease-2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has traumatized the whole world with the ongoing devastating pandemic. A plethora of microbial domains including viruses (other than SARS-CoV-2), bacteria, archaea and fungi have evolved together, and interact in complex molecular pathogenesis along with SARS-CoV-2. However, the involvement of other microbial co-pathogens and underlying molecular mechanisms leading to extortionate ailment in critically ill COVID-19 patients has yet not been extensively reviewed. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 May 6;11(1):9719. Epub 2021 May 6.

Collaborative and Translation Unit for HFMD, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.

The Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) is a highly contagious viral illness generally manifests as a mild disease in young children and immunocompromised adults. It has however emerged as a significant public health threat in recent years as outbreaks have been occurring regularly, especially in the Asia-Pacific. The disease can result from infections by a wide variety of human enteroviruses, particularly, Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) has garnered more attention due to its association with severe disease in infected patients. Read More

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2021 May 7;70(18):667-673. Epub 2021 May 7.

When the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was established in 1988, an estimated 350,000 poliomyelitis cases were reported worldwide. In 2020, 140 wild poliovirus (WPV) cases were confirmed, representing a 99.99% reduction since 1988. Read More

J Infect Dev Ctries 2021 Apr 30;15(4):566-572. Epub 2021 Apr 30.

Department of Microbiology, Kidwai Cancer Institute, Bangalore, India.

Introduction: Acute Rheumatic Fever/ Rheumatic Heart Disease (ARF/RHD), a sequel of group A streptococcal (GAS) infection, even today constitutes a public health issue in developing countries including India. Differences in the prevalence of ARF/RHD in countries with a similar prevalence of GAS infections indicate the role of other cofactors in pathogenesis of RHD.

Methodology: We investigated the prevalence of enterovirus (EV) in RHD by probing for both EV RNA and VP1 protein using Nonisotopic In Situ Hybridization (NISH) and Immunohistochemistry (IHC) respectively in 75 valvectomy specimens obtained from RHD cases. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2021 May;100(18):e25706

Department of Neonatology, Zhangzhou Hospital, Zhangzhou, Fujian, China.

Abstract: Enteroviruses is a group of positive single-stranded RNA viruses ubiquitous in the environment, which is a causative agent of epidemic diseases in children and infants. But data on neonates are still limited. The present study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of enterovirus infection in neonates and arise the awareness of this disease to general public. Read More

J Pak Med Assoc 2021 Feb;71(2(B)):737-739

Foundation University Institute of Rehabilitation Sciences FUIRS, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Pakistan is one of the only three countries in the world with an enduring poliovirus transmission, making poliomyelitis an important health concern for Pakistan. Paralytic scoliosis is a common musculoskeletal dysfunction associated with poliomyelitis. To determine the occurrence of paralytic scoliosis a cross-sectional study was conducted at Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi from 2015 to 2018. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2021 May 1;21(1):405. Epub 2021 May 1.

Key Laboratory for Pediatrics of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, Liaocheng People's Hospital, No. 67 Dongchang West Road, Liaocheng, 252000, Shandong Province, PR China.

Background: Aseptic meningitis is most often caused by enteroviruses (EVs), but EVs associated with aseptic meningitis have not yet been reported in Liaocheng. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and genetic characteristics of EVs causing aseptic meningitis in children in Liaocheng.

Methods: We reviewed the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 504 paediatric cases of aseptic meningitis in Liaocheng from 2018 to 2019 and analysed the phylogeny of the predominant EV types causing this disease. Read More

Virol J 2021 Apr 30;18(1):88. Epub 2021 Apr 30.

Laboratório de Enterovírus, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Background: Although most enterovirus (EV) infections can be asymptomatic, these viral agents can cause serious conditions associated with central nervous system, respiratory disease and uncommon manifestations of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). EV-coinfections have been rarely reported with development of complications and severe clinical outcome. An atypical case of a child presenting HFMD and severe acute respiratory syndrome, co-infected with EV-D68 and CVA6, is reported herein. Read More

Emerg Microbes Infect 2021 Apr 30:1-237. Epub 2021 Apr 30.

Division of Infectious Diseases, Geneva University Hospitals, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.

Viral infections are the leading cause of childhood acute febrile illnesses motivating consultation in sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of causal viruses are never identified in low-resource clinical settings as such testing is either not part of routine screening or available diagnostic tools have limited ability to detect new/unexpected viral variants. An in-depth exploration of the blood virome is therefore necessary to clarify the potential viral origin of fever in children. Read More

Viruses 2021 04 27;13(5). Epub 2021 Apr 27.

Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.

Viral infections are one of the leading causes in human mortality and disease. Broad-spectrum antiviral drugs are a powerful weapon against new and re-emerging viruses. However, viral resistance to existing broad-spectrum antivirals remains a challenge, which demands development of new broad-spectrum therapeutics. Read More

Viruses 2021 Apr 28;13(5). Epub 2021 Apr 28.

Enterovirus Unit, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28220 Madrid, Spain.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a mild illness caused by enteroviruses (EV), although in some Asian countries, large outbreaks have been reported in the last 25 years, with a considerable incidence of neurological complications. This study describes epidemiological and clinical characteristics of EV infections involved in HFMD and other mucocutaneous symptoms from 2006 to 2020 in Spain. EV-positive samples from 368 patients were included. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2021 Apr 16;22(8). Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Ph.D. Program in Medical Biotechnology, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110301, Taiwan.

A16 (CA16) is one of the major causative agents of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD). Children aged <5 years are the most affected by CA16 HFMD globally. Although clinical symptoms of CA16 infections are usually mild, severe complications, such as aseptic meningitis or even death, have been recorded. Read More

Microorganisms 2021 Apr 12;9(4). Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire Méditerranée-Infection, 19-21 Boulevard Jean Moulin, CEDEX 05, 13005 Marseille, France.

Background: The incidence of poliovirus has been significantly reduced by as much as 99.9% globally. Alongside this, however, vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis has emerged. Read More

Viruses 2021 04 8;13(4). Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Division of Virology, National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC), Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 3QG, UK.

There are increasing concerns of infections by enteroviruses (EVs) causing severe disease in humans. EV diagnostic laboratory methods show differences in sensitivity and specificity as well as the level of genetic information provided. We examined a detection method for EVs based on next generation sequencing (NGS) analysis of amplicons covering the entire capsid coding region directly synthesized from clinical samples. Read More

Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2021 Apr 7;14(4). Epub 2021 Apr 7.

School of Pharmacy, National Defense Medical Center (NDMC), No. 161, Section 6, Minquan East Road, Taipei 114, Taiwan.

Dengue fever is an arbovirus disease caused by infection with the dengue virus (DENV). Half of the world's population lives under the threat of dengue fever, however, researchers have yet to develop any drugs that are clinically applicable to this infection. Micafungin is a member of the echinocandins family of anti-fungal drugs, capable of blocking the synthesis of β-1,3-D-glucan in the walls of fungal cells. Read More

Clin Infect Dis 2021 Apr 29. Epub 2021 Apr 29.

Division of Health Informatics and Surveillance, Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd. NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.

Background: Respiratory tract infections are common, often seasonal, and caused by multiple pathogens. We assessed whether seasonal respiratory illness patterns changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We categorized emergency department (ED) visits reported to the National Syndromic Surveillance Program according to chief complaints and diagnosis codes, excluding visits with diagnosed SARS-CoV-2 infections. Read More

Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo 2021 26;63:e34. Epub 2021 Apr 26.

Universidade de Pernambuco, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection has been considered one of the leading causes of acute hepatitis. The aim of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of HAV among children and adolescents in a population-based study in the capitals of the States of the North, Southeast and South of Brazil and identify predictive factors for the infection. A multi-stage sampling was used to select subjects aged between 5-9 and 10-19 years. Read More

J Paediatr Child Health 2021 Apr 23. Epub 2021 Apr 23.

Graduate Medical School, Duke-National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.

Aim: Evaluation of hearing outcome in children following non-polio enteroviral meningitis (EVM).

Methods: We reviewed hearing outcome of children, aged ≤15 years, with EVM managed at our institution over a 4-year period from July 2008 to July 2011 and January-December 2015. Children with concomitant bacterial infections, and those who required intensive care, or with a prior history of hearing impairment or immunodeficiency were excluded. Read More

Rev Esp Quimioter 2021 Apr 23. Epub 2021 Apr 23.

Jordi Reina, Unidad de Virología, Hospital Universitario Son Espases. Facultad de Medicina UIB. Carretera de Valldemossa 79, 07120 Palma de Mallorca. Spain.

Objective: To control the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, the implementation of social and hygienic confinement measures was determined in all countries. These measures reduce the circulation of most respiratory viruses that are transmitted preferentially by air and contact.

Methods: The impact of these measures on non-Covid respiratory viruses during the period August-December 2020 and 2019 has been comparatively analyzed. Read More

Rev Soc Bras Med Trop 2021 12;54:e0044. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Departamento de Radiologia, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.

Nature 2021 04;592(7855):502-504

Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2021 04;25(7):3132-3135

Department of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù IRCCS, Rome, Italy.

Objective: Vulnerable populations are being more severely impacted by the ongoing pandemic, and the recent release of vaccines for Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) may offer them protection. The aim of this study was to investigate the willingness of homeless persons to be vaccinated against COVID-19; secondary aims were to analyze the immunization coverage for other conditions.

Patients And Methods: The acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine and immunization coverage for other conditions were investigated through a form in 112 persons experiencing homelessness referring to the primary care medical services of the Eleemosynaria Apostolica, Holy See. Read More

Arch Virol 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Department of Virology, The Stephan Angeloff Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 26 Academician Georgi Bonchev Street, 1113, Sofia, Bulgaria.

Although chemotherapy is generally indicated for treatment of enterovirus infections, antivirals are currently not used in clinical practice. The use of monotherapy is the main reason for this unfavourable state. This is related to the fact that enterovirus progeny consist of innumerable quasispecies, allowing the virus to develop drug resistance quickly. Read More

Epidemiol Infect 2021 04 14;149:e96. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is pandemic. Prevention and control strategies require an improved understanding of SARS-CoV-2 dynamics. We did a rapid review of the literature on SARS-CoV-2 viral dynamics with a focus on infective dose. Read More