Coxsackievirus B5 infection and aseptic meningitis in neonates and children
R. Marier, W. Rodriguez, R. J. Chloupek, C. D. Brandt, H. W. Kim, R. S. Baltimore, C. L. Parker and M. S. Artenstein
In metropolitan Washington, DC, an outbreak of aseptic meningitis in
children was recognized in the summer and fall of 1972. Age-specific attack
rates were highest in children less than 1 year of age. The incidence of
cases showed two peaks: one in July and another in October. Coxsackievirus
B5 was associated with cases occurring in July, August, and September, but
was not implicated in the October cases. Seventy-six percent of the
confirmed coxsackievirus B5 infections in aseptic meningitis patients
occurred in infants less than 2 months old. Specific meningeal symptoms
were less frequently observed in these young infants, although viral
isolations were more common (13 of 15) compared to patients over 2 months
of age (four of 19). Analysis of reported coxsackievirus B5 infections in
Washington, DC, and the United States as a whole suggests a five- or
six-year periodicity.
