Aseptic meningitis outbreak associated with echovirus 4 in Northern Europe in 2013-2014

Picornaviruses (family Picornaviridae) are small, nonenveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses. The members of this family are currently classified into 47 genera and 110 species. Of picornaviruses, entero-and parechoviruses are associated with aseptic meningitis. They are transmitted v...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Clinical Virology
Main Authors: Smura, Teemu, Blomqvist, Soile, Kolehmainen, Pekka, Schuffenecker, Isabelle, Lina, Bruno, Boettcher, Sindy, Diedrich, Sabine, Love, Arthur, Brytting, Mia, Hauzenberger, Elenor, Dudman, Susanne, Ivanova, Olga, Lukasev, Alexander, Fischer, Thea Kolsen, Midgley, Sofie, Susi, Petri, Savolainen-Kopra, Carita, Lappalainen, Maija, Jääskeläinen, Anne J.
Other Authors: University of Helsinki, HUSLAB, University of Helsinki, Department of Virology, University of Helsinki, Medicum
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2020
Subjects:
Echovirus 4
Central nervous system
Outbreak
Northern Europe
Human parechovirus
HUMAN PARECHOVIRUS INFECTIONS
CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID
ENTEROVIRUSES
IDENTIFICATION
PICORNAVIRUS
SAMPLES
TYPE-3
SPAIN
3111 Biomedicine
11832 Microbiology and virology
Norway
Iceland
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10138/325996
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104535
Description
Summary:Picornaviruses (family Picornaviridae) are small, nonenveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses. The members of this family are currently classified into 47 genera and 110 species. Of picornaviruses, entero-and parechoviruses are associated with aseptic meningitis. They are transmitted via fecal-oral and respiratory routes, and occasionally, these viruses may cause a brief viremia and gain access to central nervous system (CNS). During the diagnostic screening of entero-and parechovirus types in Finland in year 2013-14, we detected a cluster of echovirus 4 (E4) infections in young adults and adolescents. As E4 is infrequently detected in Finland, we contacted several Northern and Central European laboratories that conduct routine surveillance for enteroviruses and, for those who have had E4 cases, we send a query for E4 sequences and data. Here we report CNS infections caused by E4 in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Germany in 2013 and 2014, and show that the E4 detected in these countries form a single lineage. In contrast, E4 strains circulating in these countries preceding the year 2013, and those circulating elsewhere in Europe during 2013-2014, formed several independent clusters. Peer reviewed

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