Rapidly recurrent enteroviral meningitis in non-immunocompromised infants caused by different viral strains

Repeated episodes of enteroviral meningitis occurring within a 1-month period in two non-immunocompromised infants were investigated using molecular techniques to distinguish persistent or recrudescent infection from new infection. Viral RNA from cerebrospinal fluid was amplified by polymerase chain reaction, cloned, and the nucleic acid sequences determined. This analysis demonstrated that both infants had recurrent episodes of meningitis caused by new infection with a distinct enterovirus strain. The molecular methods that were employed should prove useful in similar clinical settings as well as for the study of enteroviral outbreaks. These cases also illustrate the potential for rapid reinfection of infants with different viruses of the same genus.