Enterovirus Déjà Vu

More than 90 human enterovirus serotypes have now been identified in three distinct waves of discovery. The three poliovirus serotypes were first isolated from nonhuman primates in the course of painstaking experiments performed during the first half of the 20th century. The use of small laboratory animals and the advent of cell culture in midcentury led to the description of 61 more enteroviruses that we know as coxsackieviruses, echoviruses, and the “newer” enteroviruses. The application of polymerase chain reaction and genomic sequencing has recently permitted characterization of approximately 30 previously unidentified enterovirus serotypes and undoubtedly will uncover more.Enterovirus 71 . . .