Parechovirus

Overview
Parechovirus is a viral genus in the family Picornaviridae. The genus is composed of two species: Human parechovirus and Ljungan virus.

Six types of human parechovirus have been identified: human parechovirus 1 (formerly echovirus 22), human parechovirus 2 (formerly echovirus 23), and human parechoviruses 3, 4, 5 and 6, respectively. Human parechoviruses cause mild, gastrointestinal or respiratory illness, but have been implicated in cases of myocarditis and encephalitis. Human parechoviruses are commonly spread and more than 95% of humans are infected by human parechoviruses early in life, within two to five years of age.

The Ljungan virus was first isolated from bank voles (Myodes glareolus, formerly Clethrionomys glareolus). Ljungan virus has been proposed as a zoonotic virus, associated with diabetes and intrauterine fetal death in human. However, the data regarding these features is currently limited and needs to be confirmed.