This virus typically causes illness in young children but was found to be associated with illness in adults.

To clarify the epidemiology of enterovirus 68 (EV68), which is one of the most rarely identified enteroviruses, virus isolation and molecular screening using RT-PCR was performed on 6307 respiratory specimens collected at pediatric clinics in Yamagata, Japan between 2005 and 2010. In the years 2005-2009, 10, 1, 2, 0, and 2 (40) EV68-positive cases, respectively, were identified by RT-PCR. In 2010, 40 cases were identified altogether: 2 by isolation only, 26 by RT-PCR only, and 12 by both isolation and RT-PCR. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that plural genetically distinct clusters co-circulated. These results suggest that that difficulty in EV68 isolation leads to an underestimation of the prevalence of EV68 infections.

No abstract

No abstract

BackgroundRecent studies strongly suggest that some respiratory viruses are associated with the induction of acute wheezing and/or exacerbation of bronchial asthma. However, molecular epidemiology of these viruses is not exactly known.MethodsUsing PCR technology, we attempted to detect various respiratory viruses from 115 Japanese children. Furthermore, the detected viruses were subjected to homology, pairwise distance, and phylogenetic analysis.ResultsViruses were detected from 99 (86.1%) patients. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) alone and human rhinovirus (HRV) alone were detected in 47 (40.9%) and 36 (31.3%) patients, respectively. Both RSV and HRV were detected in 14 (12.2%) patients. Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) alone and human parainfluenza virus (HPIV) alone were detected in 1 (0.9%) patient each, respectively. Homology and phylogenetic analyses showed that the RSV and HRV strains were classified into genetically diverse species or subgroups. In addition, RSV was the dominant virus detected in patients with no history of wheezing, whereas HRV was dominant in patients with a history of wheezing.ConclusionsThe results suggested that these genetically diverse respiratory viruses, especially RSV and HRV, might be associated with wheezing in Japanese children.