[Rotavirus infections in a neonatal pathology unit]

From February to June 1981, 38 newborn babies admitted to a special care unit were examined to determine the incidence of rotavirus infections. Fecal specimens were collected from all babies on the fifth day after birth and thereafter weekly. The stool samples were examined with an immunoenzymatic test. Serum was collected from the newborn babies and from their mothers three days after delivery. Thereafter more serum was collected from the babies at intervals. Serum was also collected from the hospital staff. Rotavirus was detected in one or more of the stool samples taken from 20 (53%) of the 38 newborn babies. Of these 20, 11 (55%) were already positive in the first specimen. Three babies still had rotavirus in their faeces after four weeks. No relation was noted between the admission to one or the other of the two wards in the unit and the presence of rotavirus in their stools. Complement fixing antibody (CFA) titers in the babies were not different from those in the mothers. A decline of antibody levels was observed in all the babies whether they were rotavirus positive or negative. Only three of the babies without CFA in the first serum sample had a significant increase of the titer while rotavirus was not found in their stools. The CFA titer geometric mean was significantly higher for babies who were found to have rotavirus from the first stool sample than for those whose subsequent samples were found to be positive. Moreover, the CFA titer geometric mean for the hospital staff was significantly higher than that of the mothers. Mild gastrointestinal symptoms were observed in 70% of the newborn babies having rotavirus in their stool and in 39% of those without rotavirus. However, this difference did not prove to be significant.