Severe echovirus 30 infection in twin neonates

Although enteroviruses can cause overwhelming and fatal systemic infections in neonates, such severe neonatal infections remain uncommon and rarely involve both of twin neonates at the same time. We report the cases of twin neonates who developed fever initially, and then progressed to disseminated systemic disease with marked thrombocytopenia, coagulopathy, and hepatic failure. One of the neonates died and the other survived. Both neonates were treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and maternal fresh frozen plasma was also given to the neonate who survived. Virus cultures from the nasopharynx, rectum and cerebral spinal fluid of both neonates yielded enterovirus, later typed as echovirus 30. The surviving neonate had normal development without obvious sequelae during a follow-up period of 1 year. The major determinant of the survival from severe neonatal enterovirus infection might have been the pre-existing severity of the disease before treatment, and complete recovery could be expected if the infant survived the acute stage of illness.