During an outbreak investigation of aseptic meningitis in children in a nursery school, faecal samples are collected. Which enterovirus is the most common cause of aseptic meningitis, and which cell culture medium best isolates it?

• A Coxsackievirus A16 is most common; only suckling mouse brain shows cytopathic effect
• B Poliovirus is most common; primary monkey kidney cells are required
• C Enterovirus 71 is most common; grows only in MRC-5 cells
• D Echovirus (especially echo 30) is most common; BGM or Vero cells with RD (rhabdomyosarcoma) cells are appropriate ✓

Explanation

Echoviruses (especially echovirus 30 and 9) are the most common cause of viral aseptic meningitis in children. Echoviruses are non-polio enteroviruses with icosahedral RNA structure. For cell culture isolation, echoviruses grow in RD (rhabdomyosarcoma) cells, BGM cells, and human diploid cells (MRC-5); Coxsackievirus B also grows in RD and MK cells; Coxsackievirus A requires suckling mouse inoculation (most group A strains do not grow in standard cell lines). RT-PCR of CSF is now the diagnostic standard as it is faster and more sensitive than culture for all non-polio enteroviruses.

Reference: Ananthanarayan & Paniker's Textbook of Microbiology, 11th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

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