The enteroviruses cause between 10 and 15 million symptomatic infections in the U.S. each year, ranging in severity from the common cold to overwhelming neonatal sepsis and death. The enteroviruses are leading causes of meningitis, encephalitis, poliomyelitis, myocarditis, and nonspecific febrile illnesses of newborns and young infants. Enteroviruses have also been implicated in the etiology of chronic diseases such as inflammatory myositis, diabetes mellitus, dilated cardiomyopathy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and post- poliomyelitis muscular atrophy.
