1. Enterovirus 68 among Children with Severe Acute Respiratory Infection, the Philippines
- Author
-
Tadatsugu Imamura, Naoko Fuji, Akira Suzuki, Raita Tamaki, Mariko Saito, Rapunzel Aniceto, Hazel Galang, Lydia Sombrero, Soccoro Lupisan, and Hitoshi Oshitani
- Subjects
respiratory infections ,enterovirus 68 ,human enterovirus D ,pneumonia ,children ,Philippines ,Medicine ,Infectious and parasitic diseases ,RC109-216 - Abstract
Enterovirus 68 (EV68) is a rare enterovirus associated with respiratory illness that, unlike other enteroviruses, has been identified only from respiratory specimens. We identified EV68 from respiratory specimens of children hospitalized with a diagnosis of severe pneumonia in Leyte, Republic of the Philippines. Twenty-one samples showed high similarity with EV68 by sequencing of 5′ nontranslated region; 17 of these samples were confirmed as EV68 by sequencing of viral protein 1 capsid coding region. Most previously reported EV68 cases had been identified as sporadic cases. All 21 patients we identified had severe illness, and 2 died, possibly the first reported fatal cases associated with EV68 infection. Our study suggests that EV68 may be a possible causative agent of severe respiratory illnesses.
- Published
- 2011
- Full Text
- View/download PDF