Professional
Technical
IVT
Parechovirus
Pronunciation: pair-EH-ko-vy-rus
RNA virus causing febrile illness, gastroenteritis, and severe CNS infections in infants and young children.
Full Definition
Human parechovirus, particularly type 3 (HPeV3), is an emerging cause of serious infections in young infants. It can present as sepsis-like illness, meningoencephalitis, or hepatitis with distinctive clinical features including irritability, feeding difficulties, and sometimes a characteristic rash. Unlike enterovirus, parechovirus often causes CSF pleocytosis without detectable virus in cerebrospinal fluid. Diagnosis requires specific PCR testing as routine enterovirus PCR may be negative.
Usage
Usage note: Requires specific molecular testing; not detected by standard enterovirus PCR.
In Context
- "The febrile infant's CSF was negative for enterovirus but positive for parechovirus type 3." — Laboratory report
- "Parechovirus infection should be considered in young infants with sepsis-like presentation." — Clinical guideline
Also known as
HPeV
human parechovirus
Don't confuse with
enterovirus
rhinovirus
adenovirus