title: A study on delayed hypersensitivity to rotavirus in infancy and childhood.
abstract: The T-cell responsiveness to rotavirus antigen and phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) together with T-cell total and subsets quantitation was carried out in 50 non-diarrhoeal and six rotavirus diarrhoeal subjects. All individuals in the non-diarrhoeal group responded well to PHA and had normal values for T-cell subsets. The number of positive responders to the rotavirus antigen increased gradually from 0% in the newborns to 92% in older children. The increasing risk of exposure to rotavirus infection is thought to be a chief cause of this age-related variation. All the rotavirus diarrhoeal patients responded well to the rotavirus antigen, indicating a potent test system. The T-cell responses to PHA and the T-cell subsets were significantly low. This could be due to temporary T-cell suppression that may accompany viral infection. Our results are discussed in the context of previous studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Immunology, University of Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Elaraby
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: el-Sharkawy
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abbassy
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hussein
mesh_terms: D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed / Q000276:immunology*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins