Prolonged echoviral meningitis in a cancer patient with normal serum immunoglobulins.

This is a report of prolonged meningitis caused by echovirus type 20 in a patient with rhabdomyosarcoma. It represents one of the few documented cases of delayed clearance of echovirus in the cerebrospinal fluid in a patient with normal serum immunoglobulins. The case illustrates the prolonged clinical course of echoviral meningitis in a patient receiving cytotoxic drug therapy, and it suggests that factor(s) other than humoral antibodies may be involved in the elimination of echovirus from the central nervous system.