MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: ECHO virus infection

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ECHO virus infection

Contents of this page:
Illustrations Alternative names Definition Causes, incidence, and risk factors Symptoms Signs and tests	Treatment Expectations (prognosis) Complications Calling your health care provider Prevention

Illustrations

ECHO virus type 9 exanthem

Antibodies

Alternative names Return to top

Nonpolio enterovirus infection

Definition Return to top

Enteric cytopathic human orphan (ECHO) viruses are a group of enteroviruses that produce varying symptoms including rashes, respiratory illness, croup-like syndromes, and nonspecific fevers.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors Return to top

ECHO virus infections are common and usually take the form of gastrointestinal infection and skin rashes.

More serious infections are seen less frequently but are of significant importance. As many as one out of five cases of aseptic meningitis (a brain infection not caused by bacteria) is thought to be caused by an ECHO virus.

Symptoms Return to top

ECHO viruses cause a wide variety of conditions. Symptoms vary with the type of disease produced and can be found under the specific diagnosis:

Signs and tests Return to top

ECHO virus can be identified from throat, stool, and rectal swabs or from spinal fluid.

See the individual diseases for specific tests.

Treatment Return to top

ECHO virus infections tend to clear up on their own. No specific antiviral medications are available. However, a new drug called pleconaril is undergoing clinical trials and can be tried for life-threatening infections.

An immune booster called IVIG may help immunocompromised patients with severe ECHO virus infections.

Expectations (prognosis) Return to top

Complete recovery without treatment in patients who have the less severe types of illness. Infections of organs such as the heart (pericarditis and myocarditis) may cause severe disease and can be fatal.

Complications Return to top

Complications vary with the site and type of infection. Myocarditis and pericarditis may be fatal while other types of infection improve spontaneously.

Calling your health care provider Return to top

Call your health care provider if you have symptoms suggestive of any of the diseases listed above.

Prevention Return to top

No specific preventive measures are available for ECHO virus infections other than hand-washing, especially when in contact with sick people. Currently, no vaccines are available.

Update Date: 12/22/2002

Updated by: Philip L. Graham III, M.D., F.A.A.P., Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of New York, Columbia University, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 2002 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.