What is enterovirus?
Enterovirus is a general name of a group of virus, including type 23 group A of Coxsakie virus, typ3 6 group B of Coxsakie virus, type 3 of Poliovirus, type 30 related virus, and type 68 to 71 Enterovirus that was last found. This makes a total of more than 60 kinds of virus. • Is type 71 particularly harmful? Type 71 is one of the 60 kinds of Enterovirus and is also the last Enterovirus that we have discovered. The virus is also very virulence especially to our nerve system, which can cause a complication. This kind of disease was separated from one of the flu from United States , California during 1969 to 1973. During that time, they discovered many virus meningitis and encephalitis case reports. • Is Taiwan the only place that has Enterovirus? What season is it usually epidemical? Everywhere in the world have this kind of virus and it usually becomes epidemical during spring, summer, and the beginning of autumn. Due to Taiwan is a semi tropic; it makes no difference to us all year round. • How does Enterovirus become contagious to us? How long does it continues? We can get infected by excrement, oral, or by direct contagion of salivation, spatter, or infected by the blister of ulcerated skin from patients. Virus is contagious due to the teenagers (children) or adults bring in the virus when coming home. Then infect the children by direct contact or spatters. It can also infect by direct contact from those who are healthy or from the secretions of mouth or nose, cough, sneeze, or taking in excrements with virus that have polluted food from patients. Toys have become the media of infecting between children, especially toys that are furry. Enterovirus becomes very contagious before eruption. Virus lives in the throat and excrement. Enterovirus can continue to exist in the secretion of the patient's mouth or nose for 3 to 4 weeks. The virus of Enterovirus can continue to obviate from the body for several weeks (6 to 8 weeks). Generally, it is very contagious during the first week of feeling ill. The rate of infecting to the family is very high. It is also very easy to get infected in crowds of people. The virus can also be separated in water during the prevalent times. Due to it is very contagious during the first week; we need to separate the infected with special care, and also be very careful on handling excerments, secretions, and skin blisters. After the second week of illness, the throat will reduce obviating virus and will reduce the risk of infecting others by secretions, spatter, or direct contact, but we need to pay attention to personal hygiene so as to prevent being infected. In the meantime, the virus is still in the excrement of the patient, so we need to prevent getting infect from our stomach, so we need to get used to wash our hands correctly.