Coxsackievirus

Coxsackieviruses A and B, as well as the ECHO viruses, have a worldwide distribution and all belong to the Picornaviridae family, genus Enterovirus. These virus groups are similar in their biological characteristics and epidemiology with a primarily faecal-oral transmission strategy but also being capable of spread via aerosols. Person to person transmission is mainly by smear infection with the portal of entry being either the alimentary canal or the respiratory tract. The viruses reach the reticuloendothelial system and other target organs such as the myocardium, meninges or skin, via the blood circulation. While infections in tropical areas tend to be all year round, in temperate zones infections are at their peak in the summer months and decline in the autumn. Small children are most often infected, however in non-immune older children and adults, infection can lead to severe disease. The incubation time lies anywhere between 12 hours and 35 days. Over 90 % of all Enterovirus infections are asymptomatic or result only in mild, short duration general malaise affecting the upper respiratory tract, such as sore throat with or without rhinitis which is often associated with fever. In adults symptoms may be pharyngitis, tonsillitis and flu-like symptoms. In particular, ECHO viruses are responsible for epidemics in new born children and babies with rhinitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis and pneumonia in hospitals and other institutions. Coxsackieviruses may cause a panoply of disease conditions, such as vesicular pharyngitis (herpangina) aseptic meningitis, meningoencephalitis, hand, foot and mouth disease, pleurodynia (Bornholm's disease), carditis, maculopapular exanthema, hepatitis, acute haemorrhagic conjunctivitis and foetal damage. Less frequently vesicular exanthema and paralysis may occur. Individuals with congenital or induced immunodeficiency are prone to viral persistence following infection which may lead to chronic diseases such as chronic enteritis, arthritis, CNS disease, recurrent pericarditis or chronic heart disease. https://*/Coxsackievirus-125171-414.htm