Epidemiology of Sporadic Cases of Human Enterovirus 92 in Captivated Primates with Acute Diarrhea

Background: Enteroviruses are among the most common viruses, which cause more than one billion infections worldwide. Enterovirus 92 (EV92) is a newly identified virus, about which few epidemiological data are available. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the echoviruses in captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) with acute diarrheal disease in the southwest of China. Materials and Methods: Stool samples (246) of diarrheal monkeys were collected for detection of EV92 by reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) as well as analysis of the epidemiological characterizations. Results: Sequence analysis indicated that echovirus shared the highest nucleotide identity (85%) with the EV92 strain isolated from the rhesus macaques with gastroenteritis from a US primate center. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the EV92 isolated in this study had clustered together with other echoviruses isolated from the primates. Conclusions: The results suggested that EV92 as a new echovirus may cause acute diarrhea in M. mulatta.