Enteroviruses are classified as RNA viruses, which means their genetic material contains ribonucleic acid. This nucleic acid is usually single stranded (ssRNA) but may be double-stranded RNA (dsRNA).
|
The enteroviruses that can infect humans are referred to
as serotypes or strains. There are 5 groups of enteroviruses. Below are the identified strains to date in each of the 5 groups. They were divided according to their viral pathogenesis in mice.
|
 |
| Microscopic image |
|
|
Enterovirus Family
Poliovirus - (3 serotypes)
Coxsackie A virus - (28 serotypes)
Coxsackie B virus - (6 serotypes)
Echovirus - (30 serotypes)
Numbered Enteroviruses - (5 serotypes)
|
Polio - First isolated in 1908 and is one of the of the most well characterized Enteroviruses. Poliovirus has become a useful model system for understanding the biology of RNA viruses.
Coxsackie - First isolated in 1948 from a child in Coxsackie, New York. Coxsackie A viruses (CVA) are mostly associated with hand-foot-mouth disease in children, and Coxsackie B viruses (CVB) are mostly associated with heart muscle disease (myocarditis) in both adults and children. Coxsackie B-3 is responsible for almost half of all the new myocarditis cases each year in the United States. Myocarditis can lead to dilated cardiomyopathy, which can only be treated with a heart transplant.
Echo - Enteric Cytopathogenic Human Orphan Virus - These viruses were originally not thought to cause disease in humans and were considered "orphan", however, echoviruses can cause infections, so this classification is no longer valid.
Numbered Enterovirus - The classification system is unusual, so any new Enterovirus isolated after 1970 is given an Enterovirus number starting with EV68. To this day, Enteroviruses are still being reclassified. EV 71 has recently caused deaths in over 42 children in China this year alone.
|
|
