Molecular Characterization of Echovirus 30 Isolated from Environment in North India

Background Echovirus 30 (E30) causes acute aseptic meningitis. Enteroviruses (EVs) are responsible for 30,000 to 50,000 hospitalizations for aseptic meningitis per year in the United States. E30 is one of the most frequently isolated EVs, causing extensive outbreaks in temperate climates in several countries. Methods E30 used in this study was isolated from environmental specimens. The virus was confirmed by RT-PCR with specific primers (1). Virus stock was prepared by infecting RD cells in 25 cm 2 flasks (Corning Inc. USA). Virus infected and mock infected cells were incubated at 36.5 ºC with 2% MEM. After 48 h of infection, the culture was aliquoted and kept at-80 ºC for further use. Results This present work analyzed the E30 genetic diversity in a fragment of 217 nucleotides of the VP1 region, of environmental strains. The environmental samples of echovirus 30 show mutation in the nonfunctional polyprotein protein (Fig. 1). The result suggested that the information may be obtained by analyzing only a part of the VP1 region. Conclusion The present study showed that the E30 environmental sample is more divergent to prototype Bastianni strain.