Surveillance of enterovirus circulation in children communities

In three children communities covered by a virological study enteroviruses could be isolated from 19.3% of the stool samples, 52.3% of the sewage samples and 9.7% of the samples taken from different objects and surfaces. The isolates belonged to 14 enterovirus serotypes, Coxsackie viruses being predominant. There was a good concordance between the serotypes of enteroviruses shed in the stools and those isolated from the environment. The high epidemiological potential of enteroviruses calls for a surveillance of their circulation in children communities, preferably by the virological monitoring of sewage.