Molecular epydemiology of enterovirus infection in the Republic of Belarus in 2016–2017

Abstract

Enteroviruses are widespread human pathogens characterized by a high level of a genetic diversity. They cause different clinical forms of infection. The aim of the present study was to analyze the molecular epidemiology of enterovirus infection in the application to the structure of its clinical forms in 2016–2017.ECHO viruses predominated among patients with aseptic meningitis and were prevailing group of enteroviruses in 2016 (all ECHO viruses – 58%, including ECHO 9 – 26%, ECHO 6 –14%, ECHO 16 – 10%). In 2017, Coxsackieviruses prevailed (68%), that were including Coxsackievirus B5 (31%), Coxsackievirus B1, Coxsackievirus B4 and Coxsackievirus A6 (9% of each serotype). Coxsackieviruses were detected more frequently in patients with vesicular pharyngitis and unspecified enterovirus infection. The results of the molecular epidemiological analysis indicated that the prevalence of ECHO viruses in 2016 and Coxsackieviruses B in 2017 was due to the emergence of numerous new genovariants of these viruses.