Enterovirus 71 infections and neurologic disease--United States, 1977-1991.

Since first described in 1974, enterovirus 71 infections have been associated with severe neurologic disease, and widespread infection was suspected in 1987. To investigate enterovirus 71 activity further, data were reviewed for isolations reported nationally during 1977-1991, virology laboratories were contacted regarding isolations during 1985-1989, and medical records were reviewed for respective patients, 1985-1989. From 1977 to 1991, 193 culture-confirmed enterovirus 71 infections were identified: > or = 1 isolate each year. In 1987, 45 persons in 17 states were infected compared with a maximum of 22 persons in 1-8 states in the other years. Of these 45, 27 (60%) had the following: paralysis (6), Guillain-Barré syndrome (1), meningitis (18), or encephalitis (2). Enterovirus 71 has been endemic in the United States since at least 1977, was identified more frequently in 1987 than in other years, and continues to be an occasional cause of severe neurologic disease.