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[Outbreak of enteroviral uveitis in children in Omsk in 1987-1988]
Insights
An enterovirus outbreak caused severe uveitis in infants in Omsk, Siberia. ECHO-11 virus was identified as the cause, leading to significant eye damage in affected infants.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Virology
- Pediatrics
Context:
- A nosocomial enterovirus outbreak occurred in Omsk, Western Siberia, between May 1987 and July 1988.
- The outbreak primarily affected infants aged 15 days to 19 months.
- The peak incidence of infection was observed in January 1988.
Purpose:
- To identify the causative agent and clinical characteristics of an acute enterovirus infection outbreak complicated by uveitis in infants.
- To investigate the etiology, epidemiology, and clinical presentation of the Omsk uveitis outbreak.
- To compare the Omsk outbreak with previous enterovirus uveitis outbreaks in Krasnoyarsk.
Summary:
- Fifty-six cases of acute enterovirus infection with uveitis were reported, with 43 infants experiencing severe or moderately severe cases.
- Clinical manifestations included iris destruction, posterior synechias, ciliary body deformation, lenticular opacity, and fundus hemorrhages.
- ECHO-11 virus was confirmed as the causative agent, with viral strains isolated and high antibody titers detected in affected infants. Uveitis was reproduced in monkeys.
Impact:
- Highlights the significant ocular morbidity associated with ECHO-11 virus infections in infants.
- Establishes etiological and epidemiological similarities with previous enterovirus uveitis outbreaks in Siberia.
- Underscores the importance of recognizing and managing nosocomial enterovirus infections in pediatric populations to prevent severe complications.
Abstract:
From May, 1987, to July, 1988, 56 cases of acute enterovirus infection complicated by uveitis were reported in Omsk, Western Siberia, USSR. Infants aged from 15 days to 19 months were involved. The infection was nosocomial, the peak of the incidence occurring in January 1988. Severe and moderately severe cases of uveitis (43 out of 56 infants) were prevalent running a course with destruction of the iris, formation of posterior synechias, deformation of the ciliary body, lenticular opacity, appearance of prelental films, retardation of the development of the affected eye, hemorrhages in the fundus of the eye. The causative agent of uveitis outbreak was ECHO-11 virus: 40 strains of ECHO-11 virus were isolated from 27 out of 33 examined infants with uveitis; in 32 out of 33 infants a high titre of antibodies (1:256-1:16384) to the endemic ECHO-11 virus was demonstrated. Uveitis was reproduced in monkeys infected with Omsk strains of ECHO-11 virus. The uveitis outbreak in Omsk is similar in its etiology, epidemiology, and clinical pattern to three previous outbreaks of enterovirus uveitis observed in Krasnoyarsk (central Siberia) observed in 1980-1986.