Enteroviruses and Parechovirus in Children with Acute Respiratory Infections: A Survey in Isfahan, Iran

Enteroviruses (E.V.s) and human parechovirus (HPeV) play an important role in childhood diseases, from mild infections to severe illnesses which cause morbidity and mortality. Since the diagnostic procedures are not routinely accessible in the clinical laboratory, the epidemiology of enterovirus and parechovirus remains ambiguous. The current study investigates the frequency of human Enteroviruses and Parechovirus in hospitalized children.

Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from children younger than five years with severe acute respiratory symptoms admitted to the hospital and screened for E.V.s and HPeV using RT-PCR and a two-step real-time PCR.

From 80 nasopharyngeal swabs, viral agents were detected in 4 (5%) hospitalized children with ARTIs. All of these positive cases were infants. The results of RT-PCR of pan-HPeV demonstrate no detection of HPeV. Four samples were positive for enterovirus (5%). The frequency of E.V.s and HPeV between different sexes was not significant. Also, the distribution of E.V.s and HPeV among the other age groups was not significant (P>0.05).

Enteroviruses and human Parechoviruses can cause severe consequences like neurological impairments, and more importantly, the epidemiological characteristics information in this regard is limited. Therefore, further research on viral respiratory tract infections is needed to improve public health and prevent severe complications.