Enterovirus 68

Enterovirus 68
Virus classification
Group:	Group IV ((+)ssRNA)
Family:	Picornaviridae
Genus:	Enterovirus
Species:	Enterovirus D
Subtype
Enterovirus 68
Synonyms
Human rhinovirus 87

Enterovirus 68

Human rhinovirus 87

Enterovirus 68 (EV68, EV-D68, HEV68) is a member of the Picornaviridae family, an enterovirus. First isolated in California in 1962 and once considered rare, it has been on a worldwide upswing in the 21st century. With some uncertainty, it has been implicated in cases of a polio-like disorder called acute flaccid myelitis.

EV68 is one of the more than one hundred types of enteroviruses, a group of ssRNA viruses containing the polioviruses, coxsackieviruses, and echoviruses. It is unenveloped. Unlike all other enteroviruses, EV68 displays acid lability and a lower optimum growth temperature, both characteristic features of the human rhinoviruses. It was previously called human rhinovirus 87 by some researchers.

Since its discovery in 1962, EV68 had been described mostly sporadically in isolated cases. Six clusters (equal to or more than 10 cases) or outbreaks between 2005 and 2011 have been reported from the Philippines, Japan, the Netherlands, and the states of Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona in the United States. EV68 was found in 2 of 5 children during a 2012/13 cluster of polio-like disease in California.

Cases have been described to occur late in the enterovirus season (roughly the period of time between the spring equinox and autumn equinox), which is typically during August and September in the Northern Hemisphere.

Children less than 5 years old and children with asthma appear to be most at risk for the illness, although illness in adults with asthma and immunosuppression have also been reported.

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Wikipedia