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WHAT ARE
ENTEROVIRUSES?
This
is a "collective name" for 5 subgroups of a very large family of Picornaviruses
(Pico, tiny size) (RNA Ribonucleic Acid, their internal genetic constitution)
Polio, Coxsackie A and B viruses, Echovirus and their
viruses only number based (EV 68 - 78).
They
account for millions of infections each year and have been recognised since
antiquity (1500 BC), but most infections are sub clinical (without symptoms) and
simply induce natural immunity.
As
viruses, they are too small to replicate themselves and must enter a human cell,
obliged to hand the job over to their human host.
For
this, they target mainly cells within the respiratory and intestinal tracts of
human hosts and have evolved over the centuries to persist in a form that does
not usually threaten the host or virus.
Unfortunately, modern standards of culture (eg, sanitary habits and lack of
breastfeeding) have almost destroyed this convenient alliance, so that, in
modern times clinical disease has arisen due to social change rather than to any
mutation of the viruses concerned.
Nowadays, enteroviruses are clinically associated with over 20 distinct
syndromes.
These
usually arise from spill over of infected blood from the intestinal tract or by
direct access to the brain via the spinal nerve tracts.
These
well recognised syndromes resulting from such "accidents" are characteristically
inflammatory in nature and include: Polio, Polio Encephalitis, Myalgic
Encephalitis (affecting the brain stem), Meningitis, Myocarditis, Pericarditis,
and Degenerative Heart Muscle Disease, Pleurodynia (Bornholm Disease), Rashes on
Skin or Mucous Membranes, Eye and Ear Infections, Vestibulitis (affecting
balance), Gastroenteritis, Hepatitis, Pancreatitis, Juvenile Onset Diabetes,
Urinary Tract Infections, Kidney Disease, Perinatal Enterovirus Disease and "cot
death".
The
profusion and complexity of enterovirus infections is discouraging to scholars
and leads to much apathy within the medical profession and mistreatment.
They
cling to a "psychological" explanation instead of questioning their local
microbiology department!
NOTE: This information
was gleaned from an unknown source - we apologise for this and if the origin can
be traced we will gladly attribute this page to that source (our feeling is it
was from Betty Dowsett).
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