Human parechovirus infection, Denmark

Human parechoviruses (HPeVs) often cause severe illness among young children. National surveillance with routine testing of all cerebrospinal fluid, fecal, and tissue samples was conducted during January 2009-December 2012 in all counties in Denmark (6,817 samples from 4,804 children were screened for HPeV). We detected HPeV RNA in 202 (3.0%) specimens from 149 persons. Young infants were at highest risk for HPeV, and 9 (6%) of the HPeV-infected children died, probably of their HPeV illness. HPeV3 was the most common genotype identified, and 5 closely related clades of HPeV3 circulated in Denmark throughout the study period. Our study adds perspective on the prevalence and clinical and molecular virologic characteristics of HPeV infection.