Echovirus type 17 in the neonate

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Neonatal Medicine
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Echovirus type 17 is a known enterovirus.
• While typically causing mild illness in adults, its impact on neonates is less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To document an outbreak of echovirus type 17 in a neonatal intensive care unit.
• To investigate the clinical presentation and outcomes of echovirus type 17 infection in infants.
• To report the isolation of echovirus type 17 from postmortem tissues.

Main Methods:

• Clinical case description of an echovirus type 17 outbreak in a neonatal nursery.
• Viral isolation from infant stool and cerebrospinal fluid samples.
• Autopsy and tissue sample analysis for viral detection in a fatal case.

Main Results:

• Seven infants in a neonatal nursery were affected by echovirus type 17, with virus detected in stool and cerebrospinal fluid.
• Intensive supportive care was crucial in preventing fatalities among the affected infants.
• A fatal case in another community involved a 5-week-old infant, with echovirus type 17 isolated from multiple organs.

Conclusions:

• Echovirus type 17 can cause significant illness in neonates, with a potential for severe outcomes.
• This study represents the first documented clinical disease outbreak of echovirus type 17 in a neonatal setting.
• The virus demonstrated an affinity for infant tissues, as evidenced by isolation from postmortem samples.