Enteroviruses Associated with Acute Flaccid Paralysis

Enteroviruses (EVs) are positive-sense RNA viruses, known to cause a variable spectrum of infections in humans from subclinical to fatal, implicated in the classic manifestation, acute flaccid paralysis (AFP). Severity of pathological conditions associated with EV infections has been described in part due to host genetics/immune status or the viral load during infection or the viral genetics. The AFP cases that are poliovirus-free have been reported during Polio Surveillance Programs (PSPs) carried out worldwide for eradication of polio. Non-polio EVs (NPEVs) have been frequently isolated from such cases in the PSPs. This chapter discusses the virological, molecular, and epidemiological characteristics of EV infections associated with AFP.