Echovirus type 23 observed as a nosocomial infection in infants.

Echovirus type 23 was isolated from 5 children, aged 1-13 months, during a 7-month period, covering a study period of several decades. The children were hospitalized for long periods because of chronic conditions. In 4 cases the virus was isolated from faecal samples, collected because of diarrhoea and/or vomiting. In one case echovirus type 23 was collected from nasopharyngeal secretions from a child with respiratory symptoms. The features of echovirus type 23 infection were similar to those of echovirus type 22, but it is striking that infections with echovirus type 23 were less common during the same decades covered by the study.