Enteroviruses in Blood

At the time of clinical diagnosis, the majority of children with type 1 diabetes carry EVs of different species in their blood. Controls rarely carry EVs in blood. In the blood, these viruses are present at very low titers and are minimally able to replicate in cell culture. At the time of clinical diagnosis, the presence of asymptomatic enterovirus infections is common among family members. The enterovirus types involved remain to be defined, but enteroviruses belonging to the B species appear particularly prevalent. Geographic and temporal clusters of enterovirus infection and type 1 diabetes have been documented in Northern Italy. It will be important to determine the length of persistence of enteroviruses in the blood of diabetic children. The results do not provide direct evidence for a causal relationship between enterovirus infection and diabetes, but strongly suggest that the association is not fortuitous.