Clinical disease due to enterovirus D68 in adult hematologic malignancy patients and hematopoietic cell transplant recipients

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported over 1000 cases of severe respiratory disease in pediatric patients associated with enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) in the fall of 2014. We sought to identify and define the clinical burden of disease due to EV-D68 in adult patients with hematologic malignancy or undergoing hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT). Real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for EV-D68 was performed on all respiratory samples positive for human rhinovirus (HRV) or negative for all respiratory viruses by a laboratory-developed respiratory viral PCR panel from August 11, 2014, to November 7, 2014. Presumptive cases were defined as those with an EV-D68 PCR cycle threshold (CT) at least 4 cycles lower than the HRV CT for HRV-positive samples or any EV-D68 CT value for HRV-negative samples. Sequencing of a 150-bp fragment of the 59 noncoding region confirmed EV-D68 in 16 of 506 respiratory samples. Eight patients had a history of hematologic malignancy, and 6 of these had undergone HCT. Presentation ranged from mild upper respiratory symptoms to respiratory failure. EV-D68 can infect adult patients with hematologic malignancy and HCT recipients and may be associated with severe respiratory disease. Current commercial diagnostic assays cannot differentiate EV-D68 from other enteroviruses or HRV, and improved rapid diagnostic tools are needed.