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.
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.
Severe infections are more common among the immunocompromised.
What are the symptoms?
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.
