About Enteroviruses:
- Enteroviruses are a group of viruses that can cause various infectious illnesses and are responsible for annual epidemics.
- There are many kinds of enteroviruses, including coxsackieviruses, echoviruses, polioviruses, and the hepatitis A virus.
- All enteroviruses are antigenically heterogeneous and have wide geographic distribution.
- They can infect anyone, but are more likely to cause illnesses in people with weak immune systems, as well as infants, children, and teens who don’t have immunity against a virus yet because it’s their first exposure to it.
- Illness is usually mild but has been found to affect neonates differently and sometimes more severely than older children and adults.
- Transmission: There are multiple transmission routes, particularly in the neonatal period, including intrapartum by exposure to maternal blood, secretions, and/or stool, or postnatally from close contacts with infected caregivers.
- Symptoms:
- Most people with an enterovirus infection don’t get sick.
- For those who do, symptoms depend on the type of enterovirus and which part of the body it affects.
- Most often a child will simply have a fever or mild cold symptoms such as runny nose, sneezing, coughing, or muscle aches.
- Treatment:
- There is no specific treatment for enterovirus infection.
- The focus is on easing symptoms until the infection has run its course, which usually takes only a few days.
Q1) What is a Virus?
A virus is an infectious microbe consisting of a segment of nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA) surrounded by a protein coat. A virus cannot replicate alone; instead, it must infect cells and use components of the host cell to make copies of itself. Often, a virus ends up killing the host cell in the process, causing damage to the host organism. Well-known examples of viruses causing human disease include AIDS, COVID-19, measles and smallpox.
Source: Enterovirus infections: WHO warns against deaths in Europe; does India need to worry?
Last updated on July, 2025
→ UPSC Notification 2025 was released on 22nd January 2025.
→ UPSC Prelims Result 2025 is out now for the CSE held on 25 May 2025.
→ UPSC Prelims Question Paper 2025 and Unofficial Prelims Answer Key 2025 are available now.
→ UPSC Calendar 2026 is released on 15th May, 2025.
→ The UPSC Vacancy 2025 were released 1129, out of which 979 were for UPSC CSE and remaining 150 are for UPSC IFoS.
→ UPSC Mains 2025 will be conducted on 22nd August 2025.
→ UPSC Prelims 2026 will be conducted on 24th May, 2026 & UPSC Mains 2026 will be conducted on 21st August 2026.
→ The UPSC Selection Process is of 3 stages-Prelims, Mains and Interview.
→ UPSC Result 2024 is released with latest UPSC Marksheet 2024. Check Now!
→ UPSC Toppers List 2024 is released now. Shakti Dubey is UPSC AIR 1 2024 Topper.
→ Also check Best IAS Coaching in Delhi