Isolation and Detection of Echoviruses in Acute Flaccid Paralysis among children under 15 years old in different Iraqi Provinces

Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) is a clinical syndrome characterized by rapid onset of weakness, affecting the muscles then progressing to maximum severity within several days to weeks and sometimes may lead to death. The objective of this study was the isolation and detection of Non-Polio Enteroviruses, The ECHO virus from three hundred stool specimens obtained from children aged less than 15 years old showing symptoms of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) from different Iraqi provinces and characterization the different serotypes of these viruses using both tissue culture (using RD cells) and neutralization-assay methods. This was done according to protocols applied by reference laboratories recommended by World Health Organization. The common diagnostic approach in a suspected Enteroviruses infection is the isolation of the virus (stool samples) in susceptible cell cultures such as RD cell line this cells appearance cytopathic effect (CPE ) for polio viruses and NPEVs . Virus isolation is then followed by the use of a neutralization-type assay to identify the serotype of the isolated Enterovirus, a process commonly known as serotyping. The current study, which covered in different Iraqi provinces shows that echoviruses (ECHO) had the highest prevalence affecting 79 cases (26.33%) out of 101 NPEVs. The present study showed that the maximum frequency of ECHO virus isolation was reported in Baghdad 31 (51.67%) and Basrah 21 (52.5%).