Project description:An outbreak of enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) caused severe respiratory illness in 2014. The disease spectrum of EV-D68 infections in children with underlying medical conditions other than asthma, the role of EV-D68 loads on clinical illness, and the variation of EV-D68 strains within the same institution over time have not been described. We sought to define the association between EV-D68 loads and sequence variation, and the clinical characteristic in hospitalized children at our institution from 2011 to 2014.May through November 2014, and August to September 2011 to 2013, a convenience sample of nasopharyngeal specimens from children with rhinovirus (RV)/EV respiratory infections were tested for EV-D68 by RT-PCR. Clinical data were compared between children with RV/EV-non-EV-D68 and EV-D68 infections, and among children with EV-D68 infections categorized as healthy, asthmatics, and chronic medical conditions. EV-D68 loads were analyzed in relation to disease severity parameters and sequence variability characterized over time.In 2014, 44% (192/438) of samples tested positive for EV-D68 vs. 10% (13/130) in 2011-13 (p<0.0001). PICU admissions (p<0.0001) and non-invasive ventilation (p<0.0001) were more common in children with EV-D68 vs. RV/EV-non-EV-D68 infections. Asthmatic EV-D68+ children, required supplemental oxygen administration (p = 0.03) and PICU admissions (p <0.001) more frequently than healthy children or those with chronic medical conditions; however oxygen duration (p<0.0001), and both PICU and total hospital stay (p<0.01) were greater in children with underlying medical conditions, irrespective of viral burden. By phylogenetic analysis, the 2014 EV-D68 strains clustered into a new sublineage within clade B.This is one of the largest pediatric cohorts described from the EV-D68 outbreak. Irrespective of viral loads, EV-D68 was associated with high morbidity in children with asthma and co-morbidities. While EV-D68 circulated before 2014, the outbreak isolates clustered differently than those from prior years.
Project description:Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) was rarely observed prior to a widespread outbreak in 2014. We observed its reemergence in St. Louis in 2016 and sequenced the EV-D68 genomes from two patient samples. The 2016 viruses in St. Louis differed from those we had sequenced from the 2014 outbreak but were similar to other viruses circulating nationally in 2016.
Project description:We amplified and sequenced the complete genome of enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) that had been collected from classroom air using a filter-based air sampling method and by swab sampling of environmental surfaces. Relatively high levels of EV-D68 genome equivalents were found per cubic meter of air by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR).