What is echovirus?

echoviruses are a group of enteric viruses that cause skin rashes and gastrointestinal infection. These viruses are highly infectious, it is assumed that they are present in the guts of most people and are the main cause of fever in young children. Echovirus infection is the most common cause of aseptic meningitis, which is a potentially fatal infection. Newborn children infected with echovirus may suffer serious damage to several body systems and death is a very real risk. Enteric means that the virus infects the gastrointestinal tract, while cytopathic means that the virus kills the cells that infects. The term orphan concerns the fact that when the virus was first discovered in the 1950s, it was not associated with any known infectious diseases. Since then it has been found that viruses cause infection, but the name is still used.

echoviruses can infect people of all age groups, but infants, small children, people with suppressed immune system and older people areexposed to the risk of serious infection. Symptoms of echovirus infection occur more often in male children than in children; The reason is not known. The most common method of transmission is the faecal oral route. This applies to the mechanism in which there are ingested particles, often due to poor hygiene or dangerous food preparation. The only exception is the newborn, because the transmission method is usually close contact with the mother of an infant if it carries the virus.

The most common symptom of echovirus infection is fever, which can exceed 102 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius). Fever is usually present, whether the infection is mild or serious. Infected infants and children are also irritated and may have diarrhea, vomiting, or skin or skin. In the absence of complications, most patients are fully recovering within about ten days.

Possible complications of infection include encephalitis, meningitis, myocarditis, pericarditis and pneumonia. These are brain infections, membrane surrounding the brain, heart, membrane surrounding hearte and lungs. All these infections are serious and potentially fatal, especially in infants and young children.

There are no treatment specially intended to control infection using echoviruses. People with these infections are treated to alleviate symptoms rather than eradicated the virus. For the treatment of infection is sometimes useful antiviral preparation called intravenous immunoglobulin. This treatment is an intravenous infusion of antibodies that helps the patient to fight infection.