Respiratory viruses in a residential nursery

Immunoglobulins and EB virus antibodies in infectious mononucleosis

Antibodies to EB virus capsid, EB virus complement-fixing antibodies and IgM, IgA and IgG immunoglobulins were estimated in sera from seventy-four patients with infectious mononucleosis, eighty-nine control patients (mostly with infectious diseases) and 232 healthy medical students and nurses. Complement fixing (but not virus capsid) antibodies were much lower in patients tested during active infectious mononucleosis than in patients tested during late convalescence or in controls, a disparity which could form the basis of a diagnostic test. Immunoglobulin levels were higher in patients with active infectious mononucleosis than in controls and, when tested 6 months to 2 yr later, were still higher than those in healthy individuals.

Respiratory illness and viral infection in an Edinburgh nursery

Forty-one children in an Edinburgh nursery were observed for evidence of respiratory illness from November 1963 to April 1964. During this period serial specimens of serum from these children were examined for virus antibodies and serial throat swabs were investigated for the presence of virus. Well-defined outbreaks of respiratory illness occurred and could be associated with respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza 3 virus and influenza C virus infection. Infection with adenovirus followed a more endemic pattern. The antibody response in infants to respiratory syncytial virus as measured by the standard complement-fixation test was found to be much poorer than the response to parainfluenza 3 virus. It is suggested that this may play a part in the severity of respiratory syncytial virus infection in infants.