Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Nov;26(45):2100998.
doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.45.2100998.

Re-emergence of enterovirus D68 in Europe after easing the COVID-19 lockdown, September 2021

Kimberley Sm Benschop  1 , Jan Albert  2   3 , Andres Anton  4 , Cristina Andrés  4 , Maitane Aranzamendi  5 , Brynja Armannsdóttir  6 , Jean-Luc Bailly  7   8 , Fausto Baldanti  9   10 , Guðrún Erna Baldvinsdóttir  6 , Stuart Beard  11 , Natasa Berginc  12 , Sindy Böttcher  13 , Soile Blomqvist  14 , Laura Bubba  15 , Cristina Calvo  16 , Maria Cabrerizo  17 , Annalisa Cavallero  18 , Cristina Celma  11 , Ferruccio Ceriotti  19 , Inês Costa  20 , Simon Cottrell  21 , Margarita Del Cuerpo  22 , Jonathan Dean  23 , Jennifer L Dembinski  24 , Sabine Diedrich  13 , Javier Diez-Domingo  25 , DagnyHaug Dorenberg  24 , Erwin Duizer  1 , Robert Dyrdak  2   3 , Diana Fanti  26 , Agnes Farkas  27 , Susan Feeney  28 , Jacky Flipse  29 , Cillian De Gascun  23 , Cristina Galli  15 , Irina Georgieva  30 , Laura Gifford  21 , Raquel Guiomar  20 , Mario Hönemann  31 , Niina Ikonen  14 , Marion Jeannoël  32 , Laurence Josset  32 , Kathrin Keeren  33 , F Xavier López-Labrador  25   34 , Melanie Maier  31 , James McKenna  28 , Adam Meijer  1 , Beatriz Mengual-Chuliá  25 , Sofie E Midgley  35 , Audrey Mirand  7   8 , Milagrosa Montes  5 , Catherine Moore  21 , Ursula Morley  23 , Jean-Luc Murk  36 , Lubomira Nikolaeva-Glomb  30 , Sanela Numanovic  24 , Massimo Oggioni  19 , Paula Palminha  20 , Elena Pariani  15 , Laura Pellegrinelli  15 , Antonio Piralla  10 , Corinna Pietsch  31 , Luis Piñeiro  5 , Núria Rabella  22 , Petra Rainetova  37 , Sara Colonia Uceda Renteria  19 , María P Romero  15 , Marijke Reynders  37 , Lieuwe Roorda  38 , Carita Savolainen-Kopra  14 , Isabelle Schuffenecker  32 , Aysa Soynova  30 , Caroline Ma Swanink  29 , Tina Ursic  39 , Jaco J Verweij  36 , Jorgina Vila  40 , Tytti Vuorinen  41 , Peter Simmonds  42 , Thea K Fischer  43   44 , Heli Harvala  45   46
Affiliations

Re-emergence of enterovirus D68 in Europe after easing the COVID-19 lockdown, September 2021

Kimberley Sm Benschop et al. Euro Surveill. 2021 Nov.

Abstract

We report a rapid increase in enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) infections, with 139 cases reported from eight European countries between 31 July and 14 October 2021. This upsurge is in line with the seasonality of EV-D68 and was presumably stimulated by the widespread reopening after COVID-19 lockdown. Most cases were identified in September, but more are to be expected in the coming months. Reinforcement of clinical awareness, diagnostic capacities and surveillance of EV-D68 is urgently needed in Europe.

Keywords: acute flaccid myelitis; enterovirus; enterovirus D68; respiratory infection; surveillance; typing.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure
Figure
EV-D68 detection in Europe, 1 July–14 October 2021 (n = 139)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aliabadi N, Messacar K, Pastula DM, Robinson CC, Leshem E, Sejvar JJ, et al. Enterovirus D68 Infection in Children with Acute Flaccid Myelitis, Colorado, USA, 2014. Emerg Infect Dis. 2016;22(8):1387-94. 10.3201/eid2208.151949 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Midgley CM, Watson JT, Nix WA, Curns AT, Rogers SL, Brown BA, et al. Severe respiratory illness associated with a nationwide outbreak of enterovirus D68 in the USA (2014): a descriptive epidemiological investigation. Lancet Respir Med. 2015;3(11):879-87. 10.1016/S2213-2600(15)00335-5 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kramer R, Sabatier M, Wirth T, Pichon M, Lina B, Schuffenecker I, et al. Molecular diversity and biennial circulation of enterovirus D68: a systematic screening study in Lyon, France, 2010 to 2016. Euro Surveill. 2018;23(37):1700711. 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2018.23.37.1700711 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Holm-Hansen CC, Midgley SE, Fischer TK. Global emergence of enterovirus D68: a systematic review. Lancet Infect Dis. 2016;16(5):e64-75. 10.1016/S1473-3099(15)00543-5 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cottrell S, Moore C, Perry M, Hilvers E, Williams C, Shankar AG. Prospective enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) surveillance from September 2015 to November 2018 indicates a current wave of activity in Wales. Euro Surveill. 2018;23(46):1800578. 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2018.23.46.1800578 - DOI - PMC - PubMed