Enteroviral meningitis in early infancy: significance in community outbreaks.
Sixty-eight episodes of aseptic meningitis were diagnosed in 67 children during summer-fall 1979. Enteroviruses were isolated from 38 (79%) of 48 cases (47 children) with viral isolation studies performed. In 27 cases the enterovirus was isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid. Except for one Coxsackie B-4 and one Coxsackie B-5 virus infection, all of the enteroviruses isolated were echoviruses; no single echovirus type predominated. The ages of the children with aseptic meningitis associated with an enteroviral infection ranged from 3 weeks to 14 years, with 79% of patients being under 1 year old. Forty-seven percent were infants less than 4 months old. Mild hypoglycorrhachia defined as a cerebrospinal fluid: blood sugar ratio of less than 0.50 may be a common finding in enteroviral meningitis in very young children.
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003384:Coxsackievirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004457:Echovirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005947:Glucose / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008587:Meningitis, Viral / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013781:Texas
D005947:Glucose