Volume 17, Number 8—August 2011 Enterovirus 68 in Children with
Acute Respiratory Tract Infections, Osaka, Japan Enterovirus 68
strains were detected in 14 specimens from children with
respiratory tract infections and 1 specimen from a child with
febrile convulsions during 2010 in Osaka, Japan. These strains
had deletions in the 5′ untranslated region and were genetically
different from reported strains. This virus is associated with
respiratory tract infections in Japan. Enterovirus 68 (EV68)
belongs to the family Picornaviridae, genus Enterovirus, and
species Human enterovirus D (1). EV68 was isolated from 4
children with pneumonia and bronchiolitis in the United States
in 1962 (prototype Fermon strain) (2,3) and is associated with
respiratory tract infections (RTIs) (3–5). The most common age
group for infection with EV68 is 1–4 years of age, but ≈25% of
EV68 cases occur in adults >20 years of age (5). Because of its
acid sensitivity and low optimum growth temperature (33°C), EV68
shares characteristics wi