[When an enterovirus emerges]. / Quand un entérovirus émerge.

ABSTRACT

Most of enterovirus infections are benign and the rate of mortality is low in countries with temperate climates. But since the late 1990s, Enterovirus 71 (EV-71) has become much more aggressive in Asian countries, with the outcome of a neurogenic pulmonary oedema syndrome and it is responsible for huge epidemics. The virological diagnosis rely upon viral isolation and identification by sero-neutralization, and upon the detection of specific IgM by ELISA and viral RNA by RT-PCR. There is no specific treatment to fight this virus, but innovative strategies, especially based on interfering RNA, are under investigation.