Biennial Upsurge and Molecular Epidemiology of Enterovirus D68 Infection in New York, USA, 2014 to 2018.

Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) infection has been associated with outbreaks of severe respiratory illness and increased cases of nonpolio acute flaccid myelitis. The patterns of EV-D68 circulation and molecular epidemiology are not fully understood. In this study, nasopharyngeal (NP) specimens collected from patients in the Lower Hudson Valley, New York, from 2014 to 2018 were examined for rhinovirus/enterovirus (RhV/EV) by the FilmArray respiratory panel. Selected RhV/EV-positive NP specimens were analyzed using two EV-D68-specific real-time RT-PCR assays, Sanger sequencing and metatranscriptomic next-generation sequencing. A total of 2,398 NP specimens were examined. EV-D68 was detected in 348 patients with NP specimens collected in 2014 (n = 94), 2015 (n = 0), 2016 (n = 160), 2017 (n = 5), and 2018 (n = 89), demonstrating a biennial upsurge of EV-D68 infection in the study area. Ninety-one complete or nearly complete EV-D68 genome sequences were obtained. Genomic analysis of these EV-D68 strains revealed dynamics and evolution of circulating EV-D68 strains since 2014. The dominant EV-D68 strains causing the 2014 outbreak belonged to subclade B1, with a few belonging to subclade B2. New EV-D68 subclade B3 strains emerged in 2016 and continued in circulation in 2018. Clade D strains that are rarely detected in the United States also arose and spread in 2018. The establishment of distinct viral strains and their variable circulation patterns provide essential information for future surveillance, diagnosis, vaccine development, and prediction of EV-D68-associated disease prevalence and potential outbreaks.

Complete Genome Sequence of a Colistin-Resistant Escherichia coli Strain Harboring mcr-1 on an IncHI2 Plasmid in the United States.

We report here the incidental detection and complete genome sequence of a urinary Escherichia coli strain harboring mcr-1 and resistant to colistin in a New York patient returning from Portugal in 2016. This strain, with sequence type 1485 (ST1485), was a non-extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) and non-carbapenemase producer and carried the mcr-1 gene on an IncHI2 plasmid.

Enterovirus D68 Subclade B3 Strain Circulating and Causing an Outbreak in the United States in 2016.

In 2014 the United States experienced a nationwide outbreak of Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) infection. There were no confirmed cases of EV-D68 in 2015 and CDC was only aware of limited sporadic EV-D68 detection in the US in 2016. In this report, we analyzed 749 nasopharyngeal (NP) specimens collected in 2015 and 2016 from patients in the Lower Hudson Valley, New York using a previously validated EV-D68-specific rRT-PCR assay. EV-D68 was detected in none of 199 NP specimens collected in 2015, and in one of 108 (0.9%) samples from January to May and 159 of 442 (36.0%) samples from July to October 2016. Complete EV-D68 genome sequences from 22 patients in 2016 were obtained using a metagenomic next-generation sequencing assay. Comparative genome analysis confirmed that a new EV-D68 strain belonging to subclade B3, with 3.2-4.8% divergence in nucleotide from subclade B1 strains identified during the 2014 US outbreak, was circulating in the US in 2016 and caused an outbreak in the Lower Hudson Valley, New York with 160 laboratory-confirmed cases. Our data highlight the genetic variability and capacity in causing outbreak by diverse EV-D68 strains, and the necessity of awareness and more surveillance on their active circulation worldwide.