Molecular characterization of enteroviruses isolated from patients with aseptic meningitis in Korea, 2005

Enteroviruses are the most common causative agents of aseptic meningitis. In 2005, an outbreak of aseptic meningitis occurred in Seoul, Korea, which appeared to be caused by certain enterovirus strains. This study analyzed the clinical isolates from 24 different aseptic meningitis patients at our center from January to September 2005. Serotyping using type-specific antisera, RT-PCR, and direct sequencing of the 5' noncoding and VP1 regions were carried out. The serotyping study identified 15 coxsackievirus B5 (CBV5), 4 coxsackievirus B1 (CBV1), 1 coxsackievirus B3 (CBV3) and 4 echovirus 9 (ECV9). Phylogenic analysis of the VP1 region revealed CBV5 to be the most predominant strain (15 strains). Twelve of these strains were grouped together with recent strains isolated in China and France. The 12 CBV5 strains contained a novel amino acid change in the BC-loop (the 90th and 91st, AY -> GN) compared to the reference strain (1954/UK/85). The amino acid changes in the BC-loop in some recent CBV5 strains tend to be located in the C-terminal part, and these changes suggest some antigenic significance.