Enterovirus 71 with CNS Involvement | CDC EID

EID Journal Home > Volume 16, Number 11–November 2010
Volume 16, Number 11–November 2010
Dispatch
Enterovirus 71 Infection with Central Nervous System Involvement, South Korea

Wi-Sun Ryu, Byunghak Kang, Jiyoung Hong, Seoyeon Hwang, Ahyoun Kim, Jonghyun Kim, and Doo-Sung Cheon Comments to Author
Author affiliations: Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea (W.-S. Ryu); Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Seoul (B. Kang, J. Hong, S. Hwang, A. Kim, D.S. Cheon); and Catholic University College of Medicine, Suwon, South Korea (J. Kim)

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract
We assessed neurologic sequelae associated with an enterovirus 71 (EV71) outbreak in South Korea during 2009. Four of 94 patients had high signal intensities at brainstem or cerebellum on magnetic resonance imaging. Two patients died of cardiopulmonary collapse; 2 had severe neurologic sequelae. Severity and case-fatality rates may differ by EV71 genotype or subgenotype.

Several major outbreaks of enterovirus 71 (EV71) have been reported since 1974 (1,2). Countries of the Asia Pacific Rim particularly have been recently affected by large outbreaks of EV71-associated hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD). Most patients with HFMD experience a mild disease course, but recent reports on the outbreak of EV71 infection in various countries, including Taiwan, People's Republic of China, and Malaysia, indicate that some EV71-infected persons have severe neurologic complications or systemic disease (3,4).

The varying prevalences of neurologic complications of EV71 infection among outbreaks are assumed to have been driven by differences of genotypes and co-infection with other viruses, such as a newly characterized adenovirus; however, the exact reasons remain unclear (3,5,6). We report an outbreak of EV71 infection with neurologic involvement on the basis of information from a prospective, clinical, and virologic study that was collected through South Korea's nationwide surveillance system.

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Enterovirus 71 with CNS Involvement | CDC EID

Suggested Citation for this Article

Ryu W-S, Kang B, Hong J, Hwang S, Kim A, Kim J, et al. Enterovirus 71 infection with central nervous system involvement, Korea. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2010 Nov [date cited]. http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/16/11/1764.htm

DOI: 10.3201/eid1611.100104