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Echovirus type 17 in the neonate
Insights
Echovirus type 17 caused an outbreak in a neonatal nursery, affecting seven infants. While intensive care prevented fatalities in the nursery, another infant died, highlighting the virus's potential severity in neonates.
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.
Abstract:
An outbreak of echovirus type 17 in a neonatal nursery with recovery of virus from the stools of the seven affected infants and the cerebrospinal fluid of one is described. Intensive nursing care and supportive therapy prevented a possible fatal outcome in all instances. A further case in another community is described in which a 5-week-old child succumbed to his illness and echovirus type 17 was isolated from autopsy tissues - lung, liver, kidney and spleen. This child had presumably received poor home care. The suggestion is made that while echovirus type 17 is not frequently associated with adult disease, it may exhibit affinity for infant tissues. This is thought to be the first time that this virus has been associated with clinical disease in a neonatal nursery and also the first account of its recovery from postmortem tissues.