Related concepts:

Non-specific febrile illness

Introduction to enterovirus:

Often when parents bring a sick child to the doctor and hear, “It’s just a virus,” the child has an enterovirus.

What is enterovirus?

Enteroviruses are a large family of viruses responsible for many infections in children. These viruses live in the intestinal tract, but can cause a wide variety of illnesses. There are more than 70 different strains, which include the group A and group B coxsackieviruses, the echoviruses, the polioviruses, Hepatitis A virus, and several strains that just go by the name enterovirus. Even though there are many strains, most illness is caused by about a dozen of them. Most children develop immunity to them and don’t get a strain more than once.

These viruses can live for days at room temperature. Refrigerating and freezing does not inactivate them. They are, however, easy to kill with heat and with disinfectants.

Who gets enterovirus?

Non-polio enterovirus infections are very common, especially in young children and in households with young children. Summer camps and day care centers are also common places for these infections.

Enterovirus infections can happen any time of the year, but summer and early fall are the main enterovirus seasons.

Severe infections are more common among the immunocompromised.

What are the symptoms of enterovirus?

The most common illness associated with enteroviruses is “non-specific febrile illness.” Children with this type of illness have a fever and feel under the weather for around 3 days. Sometimes they have a fever for a couple of days, feel better, and then have another fever for a couple of days. Sometimes the fever is quite high. There may be loose stools, tummy aches, sore throats, headaches, muscle aches, vomiting – or nothing but a fever.

During enterovirus season, these viruses are the main cause of rash-illnesses in children.

Enteroviruses can also cause respiratory infections, including the common cold, sore throats, and pneumonia.

Enteroviruses can cause GI infections, including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and hepatitis.

Enteroviruses can cause neurologic infections, including meningitis, encephalitis, and illnesses that cause paralysis. A recent study showed that some children who contracted a certain kind of central nervous system enterovirus infection were at higher risk for the development of ADHD.

They can cause arthritis, chest pain, muscle infections, heart infections, testicle infections, newborn infections, and eye infections.