USA ENTEROVIRUS ACUTE FLACCID PARALYSIS

Enterovirus 68 is associated with respiratory illness and shares biological features with both the enteroviruses and the rhinoviruses M. Steven Oberste1, Kaija Maher1, David Schnurr2, Mary R. Flemister1, Judith C. Lovchik3, Heather Peters4, Wendy Sessions5, Carol Kirk6, Nando Chatterjee7, Susan Fuller8, J. Michael Hanauer9 and Mark A. Pallansch1 + Author Affiliations 1Respiratory and Enteric Viruses Branch, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA 2Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory, California Department of Health Services, Richmond, CA, USA 3Clinical Virology Laboratory, University of Maryland Medical System, Baltimore, MD, USA 4State of Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Baltimore, MD, USA 5Medical Virology Laboratory, Texas Department of Health, Austin, TX, USA 6Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA 7Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, USA 8Public Health Laboratory, Minnesota Department of Health, Minneapolis, MN, USA 9Missouri State Public Health Laboratory, Department of Health and Senior Services, Jefferson City, MO, USA Correspondence M. Steven Oberste soberste@cdc.gov Received 19 December 2003. Accepted 20 May 2004. Next Section Abstract Enterovirus (EV) 68 was originally isolated in California in 1962 from four children with respiratory illness. Since that time, reports of EV68 isolation have been very uncommon. Between 1989 and 2003, 12 additional EV68 clinical isolates were identified and characterized, all of which were obtained from respiratory specimens of patients with respiratory tract illnesses. No EV68 isolates from enteric specimens have been identified from these same laboratories. These recent isolates, as well as the original California strains and human rhinovirus (HRV) 87 (recently shown to be an isolate of EV68 and distinct from the other human rhinoviruses), were compared by partial nucleotide sequencing in three genomic regions (partial sequencing of the 5′-non-translated region and 3D polymerase gene, and complete sequencing of the VP1 capsid gene). The EV68 isolates, including HRV87, were monophyletic in all three regions of the genome. EV68 isolates and HRV87 grew poorly at 37 °C relative to growth at 33 °C and their titres were reduced by incubation at pH 3·0, whereas the control enterovirus, echovirus 11, grew equally well at 33 and 37 °C and its titre was not affected by treatment at pH 3·0. Acid lability and a lower optimum growth temperature are characteristic features of the human rhinoviruses. It is concluded that EV68 is primarily an agent of respiratory disease and that it shares important biological and molecular properties with both the enteroviruses and the rhinoviruses. Previous SectionNext Section The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession numbers reported in this paper are AY426486–AY426531.