A Novel Mode of Transmission for Human Enterovirus Infection Is Swimming in Contaminated Seawater: Implications in Public Health and in Epidemiological Surveillance

摘要

Enteroviruses (EVs; Picornaviridae) are among the most common viruses infecting humans worldwide [1]. These posi-tive-RNA viruses possess a high genetic diversity (89 serotypes), and they can evolve through genetic mutations or recombination events that are associated with the potential emergence of new epidemic serotypes [2, 3]. Although the majority of human EV infections remain asymptomatic, these viruses are associated with a large diversity of clinical syndromes, ranging from minor febrile illness to severe and potentially fatal pathologies, including aseptic meningitis, encephalitis, myopericarditis, acute flaccid paralysis, and severe neonatal sepsis-like disease [1,4].