Premium
FURTHER STUDIES ON NEONATAL ROTAVIRUS INFECTIONS
Author(s) -
Crewe Evelyn,
Murphy A. M.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1980.tb134626.x
Subject(s) - rotavirus , virology , rotavirus infections , medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , virus
Forty newborn babies who were shown to be excreting rotaviruses within a few days of birth were tested daily for one month. Most were found to excrete virus for only a short period of time. In 48% of babies, virus was found on one day only, in 25% it was present for two days, and in 10% for three days. Most of these infections did not appear to confer lasting immunity. Only 21% of young children who excreted virus as neonates had detectable circulating complement‐fixing antibodies when eight to eighteen months old. A survey of newborn babies showed that 89% of babies possessed the antibody, but, by the age of four to six months, the antibody was present only in 7%. This supports the view that infected neonates fail to develop circulating complement‐fixing antibodies. Infection rates did not differ significantly between breast‐fed and bottle‐fed babies. Likewise, maternal antibody levels could not be shown to have any effect on infection. No rotavirus particles were found in breast milk.