Enterovirus
Enterovirus is an infectious disease caused by a group of viruses of the same name. The disease manifests itself in a diverse clinical picture. The main way viruses spread is through food and aerosol transmission. Typical for all types of viruses will be the following manifestations – high fever and severe intoxication syndrome, digestive disorders, as well as various skin rashes.
ETIOLOGY AND PATHOGENESIS
Enteroviruses are RNA genomic viruses, most of which are considered pathogenic to humans. Some of the pathogenic species are well resistant in the external environment, as well as to the effects of chemicals.
Enteroviruses are well inactivated under the influence of ultraviolet irradiation, disinfectants, chlorine-containing drugs.
Viruses are organisms that are unable to live outside the host organism. The reservoir and source of infection is a sick person or a carrier of infection who, for some reason, has not developed the disease. A person whose body contains a pathogen remains contagious for a long time – up to several months. Especially a lot of the virus is released in the first time after infection.
The virus is excreted with all biological fluids. Transmission of the pathogen occurs mainly through food when eating infected foods and by fecal-oral route. Some types of viruses have the ability to spread via an aerosol transmission pathway. There are also cases of vertical transmission of infection – from mother to fetus.
CLASSIFICATION OF ENTEROVIRUS INFECTIONS
Since the diversity of enteroviruses is great, there is no classification. The only classification that doctors provide is a typical and atypical clinical picture of the disease.
Typical types of enterovirus infection:
Epidemic myalgia.
Exanthema.
Herpangina.
Aseptic serous meningitis.
All these types can occur both in catarrhal form, and encephalic (with predominant brain damage), polio-like form (with predominant spinal cord damage).
Atypical types of enterovirus infection:
Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas.
Uveitis is an inflammation of the membranes of the eye.
Nephritis is an inflammation of the kidneys and urinary tract.
Myocarditis – most often develops in newborns on the background of encephalitis.
Mixed infection is a combined lesion of the body.
SYMPTOMS OF ENTEROVIRUS INFECTION
The period in which the disease does not manifest itself in any way is incubation and is up to 7-8 days. Then a wide variety of clinical symptoms develop. Most often, the patient confuses enterovirus infection with other diseases. General clinical characteristics:
Fever, general body temperature can reach up to 40 degrees and above.
General intoxication syndrome – weakness, body aches, pain in muscles and joints.
Sometimes dyspeptic symptoms may be noted – nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, flatulence.
Nausea and vomiting of central origin are possible – with irritation of specific centers of the brain. What distinguishes such nausea and vomiting is that it does not bring relief.
The appearance of the patient is also characteristic: hyperemia of the skin and mucous membranes, inflammation of the tonsils, palatine arches, rash of vesicles on the oral mucosa resembling a herpes infection.
Various rashes on the body, resembling rashes with various types of infection – rubella, scarlet fever, measles. The most common rashes are roseolous, papular, petechiae.
The disease can occur in a flu-like form with an increase in clinical symptoms.
TREATMENT OF ENTEROVIRUS INFECTIONS
No guaranteed etiotropic treatment against enteroviruses has been developed. The main therapeutic measures are aimed at easing the pressure on the body, detoxification and relief of symptoms.
When the nervous system is affected, more serious drugs are prescribed – diuretics and glucocorticosteroids.
In particularly rare cases, intensive therapy may be required, as well as resuscitation measures and medications.
