Neonatal rotavirus infection and its relation to cord blood antibodies.

Abstract

Among 274 neonates born at the maternity services of an urban hospital in India, 36.1% of the infants shed rotavirus in feces (as detected by ELISA) by 72 h of life. The excretion rate increased to 70.3% among the 120 infants who stayed for 5 days or more at the hospital. Diarrhoeal symptoms of mild and self-limited nature were observed only in 19.2% of the rotavirus excretors, the remaining being asymptomatic. Among the 98 infants who received supplement feeds, 49% acquired rotavirus infection as against 24.7% of the 150 exclusively breast fed infants (p less than 0.001). Viral RNA in the feces of all rota positive infants showed the same electropherotype, indicating infection from a common source. The mean percentage rotavirus inhibitory activity of cord sera in the infected and non-infected infants was 50.2 +/- 21.7 and 56.6 +/- 19.2 respectively (p greater than 0.05), suggesting that cord blood antibodies do not offer significant protection against neonatal rotavirus infection.

• Authors: S Jayashree, M K Bhan, P Raj, R Kumar, L Svensson, G Stintzing, N Bhandari
• Journal: Scandinavian journal of infectious diseases (Scand J Infect Dis) Vol. 20 Issue 3 Pg. 249-53 ( 1988) ISSN: 0036-5548 [Print] England
• PMID: 3406664 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Antibodies, Viral
• RNA, Viral

Topics

• Antibodies, Viral (analysis)
• Bottle Feeding (adverse effects)
• Breast Feeding
• Cross Infection (epidemiology)
• Diarrhea, Infantile (microbiology)
• Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
• Feces (microbiology)
• Fetal Blood (immunology)
• Humans
• India
• Infant, Low Birth Weight (microbiology)
• Infant, Newborn
• Nurseries, Hospital
• RNA, Viral (analysis)
• Rotavirus Infections (epidemiology, immunology)