Polioviruses: Concurrent Serotyping and Intratypic Differentiation of Polioviruses

Human enteroviruses include polioviruses, coxsackieviruses, echoviruses, and newer enteroviruses designated enteroviruses 68–71. They are classified as one genus of the Picornaviridae ; rhinoviruses are a separate genus of the same virus family. All picornaviruses are small, icosahedral viruses 20–30 nm in diameter. Virons lack a lipid membrane and encase a single strand of positive-sense RNA about 7.5 kb long. Enteroviruses multiply in the alimentary tract but can spread to other organs and cause a variety of diseases, which depending on the individual enterovirus type, include poliomyelitis, aseptic meningitis, rashes, respiratory illness, eye disease, and cardiac disease. Rhinoviruses multiply in the respiratory tract and are one cause of the common cold.