First report of an outbreak of aseptic meningitis caused by echovirus type 13 in Japan

Enteroviruses such as echoviruses and Coxsackieviruses, are a common cause of aseptic meningitis. Echovirus type 13 (E13), however, was not recognized as a causative agent of aseptic meningitis until an outbreak of E13 meningitis was reported in England 1 and Germany 2 in 2000. The authors observed a regional outbreak of aseptic meningitis from September to December 2001 in the north-east area of Fukushima Prefecture in Japan, and confirmed that the causative agent was E13. This is the first report of an outbreak of aseptic meningitis caused by E13 in Asia.