Increased detection of Echovirus 6-associated meningitis in patients hospitalized during the COVID-19 pandemic, Israel 2021-2022.
J Clin Virol
; 162: 105425, 2023 05.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2259565
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Outbreaks of enteroviral meningitis occur periodically and may lead to hospitalization and severe disease.OBJECTIVE:
To analyze and describe the meningitis outbreak in patients hospitalized in Israel in 2021-2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic.RESULTS:
In December 2021, before the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant, an off-season increase in enterovirus (EV) infections was observed among patients hospitalized with meningitis. In January 2022, enterovirus cases decreased by 66% in parallel with the peak of the Omicron wave, and then increased rapidly by 78% in March (compared with February) after a decline in Omicron cases. Sequencing of the enterovirus-positive samples showed a dominance of echovirus 6 (E-6) (29%) before and after the Omicron wave. Phylogenetic analysis found that all 29 samples were very similar and all clustered in the E-6 C1 subtype. The main E-6 symptoms observed were fever and headache, along with vomiting and neck stiffness. The median patient age was 25 years, with a broad range (0-60 years).CONCLUSION:
An upsurge in enterovirus cases was observed after the decline of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron wave. The dominant subtype was E-6, which was present prior to the emergence of the omicron variant, but increased rapidly only after the omicron wave decline. We hypothesize that the omicron wave delayed the rise in E-6-associated meningitis.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Enterovirus
/
Enterovirus Infections
/
COVID-19
/
Meningitis, Viral
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Variants
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Middle aged
/
Infant, Newborn
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
J Clin Virol
Journal subject:
Virology
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.jcv.2023.105425
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