1. Intrafamilial Transmission of Parechovirus A and Enteroviruses in Neonates and Young Infants.
- Author
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Izumita R, Deuchi K, Aizawa Y, Habuka R, Watanabe K, Otsuka T, and Saitoh A
- Subjects
- Child, Child, Preschool, Disease Outbreaks, Enterovirus genetics, Enterovirus Infections epidemiology, Enterovirus Infections virology, Family, Feces virology, Female, Fever, Genotype, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Japan epidemiology, Male, Meningoencephalitis epidemiology, Meningoencephalitis transmission, Parechovirus genetics, Picornaviridae Infections epidemiology, Picornaviridae Infections virology, Prospective Studies, RNA, Viral isolation & purification, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction, Sepsis epidemiology, Sepsis transmission, Sepsis virology, Enterovirus isolation & purification, Enterovirus Infections diagnosis, Enterovirus Infections transmission, Parechovirus isolation & purification, Picornaviridae Infections diagnosis, Picornaviridae Infections transmission
- Abstract
Background: Parechovirus A (PeV-A) is an important cause of sepsis and meningoencephalitis in neonates and young infants. Thus, identifying the source of PeV-A is essential for prevention; however, little is known regarding the spread of PeV-A among family members of PeV-A-infected neonates and young infants., Methods: In this prospective study, we evaluated stool samples from family members of PeV-A-infected neonates and infants younger than 4 months who presented with sepsis, meningoencephalitis, or both in Niigata, Japan, in 2016. Because of a simultaneous outbreak, enteroviruses (EVs) were also evaluated during this period. Real-time polymerase chain reaction followed by sequence analysis was used for viral diagnosis using serum and/or cerebrospinal fluid samples., Results: Among 54 febrile patients, the stool samples of 14 (26%) and 12 (22%) patients tested positive for PeV-A and EV, respectively. Stool samples from 54 family members (38 adults and 16 children) of 12 PeV-A-infected patients were available. The rate of PeV-A positivity in these samples was higher among the children (88% [14 of 16]) than the adults (34% [13 of 38]). Among family members with a PeV-A-positive stool sample, 29% (4 of 14) of the children and 77% (10 of 13) of the adults were asymptomatic. Similarly, among 53 stool samples from family members (31 adults and 22 children) of 11 EV-infected patients, the rate of EV positivity in the stool samples was higher among the children (91% [20 of 22]) than among the adults (42% [13 of 31]). The asymptomatic-patient rates were 45% (9 of 20) among the children and 85% (11 of 13) among the adults in family members with EV-positive stool., Conclusions: Similar to EVs, PeV-A was detected frequently in stool samples from family members of PeV-A-infected patients. Among family members with PeV-A-positive stool, adults were more likely than children to be asymptomatic and therefore could be an important source of PeV-A infection., (© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)
- Published
- 2019
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