Infecciones por enterovirus humanos / Human enterovirus infections

Los enterovirus son una gran cantidad de agentes que pueden producir diferentes patologías. En los años 2005 y 2006 se presentó un brote de meningitis viral por echovirus en la IX región de Chile, lo que motivó la investigación y posterior publicación del tema. Es importante la prevención de infecciones con medidas higiénicas adecuadas en la comunidad y los médicos deben conocer estos agentes para evitar tratamientos antibióticos y hospitalizaciones innecesarias que aumentan el riesgo de infecciones resistentes o intrahospitalarias.

Pesquisa de enterovírus em casos de síndrome de meningite asséptica de Belém, PA / Investigation of enterovirus in cases of aseptic meningitis syndrome of Belém, PA

Com o objetivo de isolar e identificar os sorotipos de enterovírus, agentes etiológicos mais freqüentes da síndrome de meningite asséptica, foram estudadas amostras de líquor de pacientes da unidade de saúde de referência da Cidade de Belém-PA, do período de março de 2002 a março de 2003. As amostras foram inoculadas em cultivos celulares RD e HEp-2, e as positivas identificadas por neutralização ou imunofluorescência indireta. De 249 amostras, 33 (13,2 por cento) foram positivas sendo 57,6 por cento (n=19) em pacientes menores de 11 anos (p<0,03) e predominantemente (72,7 por cento) naqueles do sexo masculino (p<0,008). Os sorotipos isolados foram: Echovírus 30 (n=31), Coxsackievírus B5 (n=1) e Echovírus 30 e 4. Em conclusão, estudos deste tipo servem também para melhor compor o quadro nacional, ainda pouco definido, sobre os agentes enterovirais mais prevalentes em casos de SMA.

Frequency, viral loads, and serotype identification of enterovirus infections in Scottish blood donors.

BACKGROUND: Enteroviruses are non-enveloped, frequently pathogenic RNA viruses infecting humans. Infection is potentially transmissible through blood or blood component transfusion from donor in the viremic phase before seroconversion for antibody. To investigate the threat to blood safety from enteroviruses, a large-scale survey of frequency and levels of viremia in blood donors was conducted. STUDY DESIGNS AND METHODS: Blood donations from Scotland over a period of 22 calendar months were screened for enterovirus RNA sequences by PCR. Positive samples were quantified, and serotypes were identified by nucleotide sequencing of VP1. RESULTS: From a total of 3658 pools of 95 donations tested, 73 samples that were enterovirus-positive were identified (corrected annual frequency 0.024% or 1 in 4000). The highest rates of viremia were in late summer months (e.g., 0.055%, 1 in 1800 in July) and lowest from January to May (0.009 and 0.012%). Viral loads ranged from 500 (the lower cutoff of the assay) to greater than 100,000 amplifiable enterovirus template copies per mL. Coxsackievirus A16, echoviruses 11 and 30, and enterovirus 71 were most often identified. CONCLUSIONS: The detection of enterovirus-positive blood units indicates the potential for enteroviral transmission by blood components. Although the infrastructure established for PCR-based screening for HCV RNA would allow parallel screening for enteroviruses, any decision concerning donor testing would require further information on the outcome of transfusion-acquired enterovirus infections.

The classification of viruses infecting the respiratory tract.

Following the boom in respiratory virology in the 1960s, species of rhinoviruses, coronaviruses, enteroviruses, adenoviruses, parainfluenza viruses and respiratory syncytial virus were added to influenza and measles viruses as causes of respiratory tract infection. In restricted patient groups, such as the immunocompromised, members of the family of herpesviruses including herpes simplex, cytomegalovirus, varicella-zoster virus, Epstein-Barr virus and human herpes virus 6 have also been associated with respiratory disease. This list of pathogens was extended last year with the discovery of a novel virus, the human metapneumovirus. More than 200 antigenically distinct viruses have been documented as causes of sporadic or epidemic respiratory infections in infants, children and adults. However, this varied and diverse group can be divided among six distinct families. Understanding some of the basic biology of these families gives an insight into possible strategies for diagnosis, control and therapy.