Epidemiology of Echovirus 30 Infections Detected in a University Hospital in Catalonia, Spain, in 1995–2020

Abstract

There is a growing interest in echovirus 30 (E30), an enterovirus responsible for neurological disease and hospitalization. There are multiple studies of outbreaks, but few that study the epidemiology over long periods of time. Our study aims to describe the clinical, epidemiological and microbiological characteristics of a series of E30 infections detected over 26 years. Data were retrospectively collected from a database of all enterovirus infections identified in our laboratory. They were detected by viral isolation or nucleic acid detection in patients presenting with respiratory or neurological infections, rash, sepsis-like syndrome, or gastroenteritis. Enterovirus genotyping was performed by amplification of the VP1 gene using RT-nested PCR, followed by sequencing and BLAST analysis. Of the 2402 enterovirus infections detected, 1619 were linked to at least one genotype and 173 were caused by E30. Clinical information was available for 158 (91.3%) patients. E30 was associated with neurological infection in 107 (67.8%) cases and it was detected almost every year. Phylogenetic analysis was performed with 67 sequences. We observed that E30 strains circulating in Catalonia from 1996 to 2016 belong to two lineages (E and F), although the majority cluster was in F. In 2018, lineage I emerged as the dominant lineage.

Diversity of enteroviruses in cerebrospinal fluid specimens collected from hospitalised patients in the private and public sector in South Africa

“…26 In addition to meningitis, E30 often causes mild respiratory disease and non-specific fever, therefore it is not routinely screened for. 27 The E30 strain identified during this study clusters with South African strains (>95% identity)…”

“…Echovirus E30 is an emerging genotype in European countries (Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden) and is widely circulating 26 . In addition to meningitis, E30 often causes mild respiratory disease and non‐specific fever, therefore it is not routinely screened for 27 . The E30 strain identified during this study clusters with South African strains (>95% identity) [MK376268; KY861208] and shows less similarity to international strains (<80%).…”

Editorial for the Special Issue “Epidemiology of Enterovirus Disease”

“…This Special Issue includes a review [1] and a research article [2] describing the impact of rhinoviruses as pathogens involved in bronchiolitis or as a cause of asthma exacerbations in both children and adults [1], as well as a cause of prolonged infections in immunocompromised patients [2]. Other articles focus on the circulation of EVs among human and great apes [3] and on Echovirus 30 (E30) as a cause of neurological disorders [4]. Finally, an article authored by the European Non-Polio Enterovirus Network (ENPEN) presents a complete overview of EVs' circulation and the estimation of the disease burden of EV and human parechovirus (PeV) infections in Europe through the establishment of standardized syndromic surveillance for hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) and respiratory and neurological infections.…”

“…Echovirus 30 (E30) is one of them, and multiple studies of outbreaks have been published, but only a few assessed E30 epidemiology over a long period of time. The article by Del Cuerpo et al [4] presents the results of the analysis of the clinical, epidemiological and microbiological characteristics of a series of E30 infections detected over the last 26 years. E30 was detected by viral isolation or nucleic acid detection in patients presenting with respiratory or neurological infections, rash, sepsis-like syndrome or gastroenteritis.…”

“…Phylogenetic analysis performed with 67 sequences showed that E30 strains belonging to two lineages (E and F) circulated in Catalonia from 1996 to 2016. In 2018, lineage I emerged as the dominant lineage [4].…”