Echovirus type 22 outbreak associated with gastro-intestinal disease in a neonatal intensive care unit.

An echovirus type 22 outbreak involving 19 neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients during the months of October and November 1992 is reported. Twelve infants presented with diarrhea, 7 of whom had bloody stools and x-ray findings compatible with early stages of necrotizing enterocolitis, while one infant demonstrated characteristic pneumatosis intestinalis. Outbreaks of echovirus type 22 infection in premature infants have rarely been reported. The possibility of Echovirus 22 infection should be considered in neonatal gastrointestinal disease associated with features of necrotizing enterocolitis.