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.