Abstract
A clinical and virological study has been performed at this hospital for the past 4 years on aseptic meningitis among children.
The results were summarized as follows:
1) During the summers, 1958 through 1960, we were confronted with a new type of febrile exanthematosis among newly weaned infants. Since a good number of these patients were found to have an aseptic meningitis, and the virological study on spinal fluids was begun. A total of 51 cases of the exanthematosis were collected, of which 23 cases were associated with an aseptic meningitis. In 1959, an ECHO virus, type undetermined, was isolated in stools of 2 out of 7 cases examind. A complement-fixing antibody study was performed on sera from 9 patients, Rise of titers against ECHO viruses was significant in 4 patients and probably significant in 2 others.
During the 1960 season, however, several types of virus, such as the Coxsackie B5 and ECHO 6 viruses and an adenovirus, were isolated. Therefore it was considered that various kinds of virus were responsible for this infantile exanthematosis.
2) Other types of meningitis were also observed during the same period of study. Some of them were considered to be associated with mumps, anterior poliomyelitis, and non-polio enteroviruses. In others the etiologic agents were not determined, Brief case reports were made on 5 patients which took interesting courses; Case 1: prolonged paralysis with an ECHO virus, Case 2: prolonged paralysis with a double infection with the ECHO 6 and polio 1 viruses, Case 3: transient paralysis due to a Coxsackie or ECHO virus, Case 4: meningitis with exanthema and the Coxsackie B5 virus, Case 5: infantile diarrhea (Hakuri) with exanthema and the adenovirus 2.
