During 1972 an apparently new enterovirus with characteristics of the Coxsackievirus group A was isolated from 11 residents of New York State, 10 of whom had central nervous system disease. The representative strain S/Albany 1/72 has the physical and chemical properties of an enterovirus and causes the pathology typical for Coxsackievirus group A in 1-day-old mice. Cross-neutralization tests indicated that the virus is distinct from currently recognized enteric viruses of man. Antibody levels to the representative strain were moderate to high in patients and were low to moderate in 26% of healthy individuals tested.