Researchers dive deep into rare enterovirus

Local researchers have new clues about a rare respiratory virus that caused a national outbreak and filled childrens hospital beds in August and September.

Researchers at the Genome Institute at Washington University mapped the genetic code of enterovirus D68 samples taken from nine children treated at St. Louis Childrens Hospital. Their work, along with about six other genome sequences of the virus from around the country, will be used to study the makeup of the virus with a goal of developing a better diagnostic test, treatments and potentially a vaccine.

Knowing the whole genome sequence is a very important starting point for research, said Dr. Gregory Storch, a professor of pediatrics who co-wrote a paper on their work in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. The next thing is that it could be helpful to us in designing better diagnostic tests, and further down the road, it can be very useful for people trying to develop new treatments.

The virus surprised disease investigators when it started showing up in children in Missouri and Illinois in August. Now 47 states have reported illnesses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus can cause severe symptoms, including coughing, wheezing and fever, especially in children with asthma. In rare cases, neurological symptoms have included paralysis linked to the virus, which is related to polio.

Respiratory viruses are seen every summer and fall, but the enterovirus D68 caused more serious, widespread illnesses and raised questions about its pathology.

Something has changed about the virus or the way it fits into the community, Storch said. It seems to be emerging as a cause of widespread respiratory disease. We dont know what the future holds, but we may see future outbreaks.

Since August, more than 1,100 confirmed enterovirus D68 cases have been confirmed in the country and eight deaths in children who tested positive for the virus.

But thousands more are probably sickened by the virus, including as many as 1,500 children treated at St. Louis Childrens Hospital for respiratory illness this year. Most of the cases did not receive comprehensive testing that would determine the strain. Storch said the genome sequencing could point to an easier way to diagnose the virus.

Read the original here:
Researchers dive deep into rare enterovirus