Febrile illness in early infancy associated with ECHO virus infection

Twenty-three infants less than six weeks of age with fever of 100.4° F. or higher and no evidence of bacterial infection were seen at the Cincinnati General Hospital from July to December, 1971. Seventeen of these were admitted to the hospital; 15 were treated with penicillin and kanamycin for possible sepsis. Viral isolation was attempted on 21 of these infants, and ECHO viruses were isolated from 14 (66.7 per cent), compared to three (14.3 per cent) of 21 controls. Elevent of the 14 ECHO viruses isolated were type 4, and the other 3 were types 6, 11, and 25, respectively. Acute and convalescent serum was obtained from 11 of the 21 infants; seven had a fourfold rise in antibody to ECHO virus type 4. Most of the children had fever with irritability, six of the 23 had a fine maculopapular rash, and three had aseptic meningitis. This study suggests that ECHO viruses may be a significant cause of febrile illness in young infants during the summer and fall and may account for illnesses which lead to hospitalization as possible sepsis.

1971年7月至12月，在辛辛那提综合医院接诊了23名年龄小于6周、发热达100.4°F（38°C）或更高且无细菌感染证据的婴儿。其中17名婴儿入院；15名因可能患有败血症而接受青霉素和卡那霉素治疗。对其中21名婴儿尝试进行病毒分离，从14名（66.7%）婴儿中分离出埃可病毒，相比之下，21名对照组婴儿中仅有3名（14.3%）分离出该病毒。分离出的14种埃可病毒中，11种为4型，其他3种分别为6型、11型和25型。从21名婴儿中的11名获取了急性期和恢复期血清；其中7名婴儿对埃可病毒4型的抗体升高了4倍。大多数儿童发热且烦躁不安，23名儿童中有6名出现细的斑丘疹，3名患有无菌性脑膜炎。这项研究表明，埃可病毒可能是夏秋季节幼儿发热性疾病的一个重要病因，并且可能是导致因可能患有败血症而住院的疾病的原因。