[The value of the Coxsackie B virus complement fixation test (author's transl)]

Enteroviruses were isolated from 27 patients during 1973 and 1974, 21 of these were Coxsackie B, 4 were ECHO and 2 were polio viruses, 5 further viruses could not be identified. Sera from 14 of the Coxsackie patients were investigated twice by means of the Complement Fixation Test (CFT). 11 of them showed a significant rise in antibody titre against one of the 6 different Coxsackie B viruses. No strong correlation was established between the result of the CFT and the isolated type of virus. Nevertheless, the CFT can be helpful in the diagnosis of a Coxsackie B infection. About 200 such cases with varied clinical features were diagnosed in the Department of Virology, Vienna University over the past 3 years by means of the CFT.