Enterovirus and parechovirus infection in children: a brief overview

Eur J Pediatr. 2016 Aug;175(8):1023-9. doi: 10.1007/s00431-016-2725-7. Epub 2016 May 7.

Abstract

Enterovirus and parechovirus are a frequent cause of infection in children. This review is an overview of what is known from enterovirus and parechovirus infection in children and contains information about the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of enterovirus and parechovirus infection in children.

Conclusions: EV and HPeV infections are a frequent cause of infection in childhood. The clinical presentation is diverse. RT-qPCR is the best way to detect an EV or HPeV. Cerebrospinal fluid, blood and feces have the highest sensitivity for detecting an EV or HPeV. There is no treatment for EV and HPeV infections. Two vaccines against EV 71 are just licensed in China and will be available on the private market. Little is known about the prognosis of EV and HPeV infections.

What is known: •EV and HPeV are a frequent cause of infection in children. What is new: •This review gives a brief overview over EV and HPeV infection in children.

Keywords: Children; Enterovirus; Infection; Overview; Parechovirus.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Child
  • Enterovirus / isolation & purification
  • Enterovirus / pathogenicity
  • Enterovirus Infections* / diagnosis
  • Enterovirus Infections* / epidemiology
  • Enterovirus Infections* / therapy
  • Humans
  • Parechovirus* / isolation & purification
  • Parechovirus* / pathogenicity
  • Picornaviridae Infections* / diagnosis
  • Picornaviridae Infections* / epidemiology
  • Picornaviridae Infections* / therapy
  • Prevalence
  • Prognosis
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction