In a study of children who were hospitalized or were attending a hospital outpatient department: 1) One of seven different Group A Coxsackie viruses was isolated from 9.1 per cent of 620 children. 2) The virus was recovered from 9.5 per cent in the outpatient department, 6.7 per cent in patients hospitalized less than 5 days and 10.3 per cent in patients hospitalized for 5 days or more. 3) The strains of virus were essentially those which have been found in patients with herpangina. 4) In 10 instances, the virus was isolated after the patient had been in the hospital for 10 days and had had at least 2 "negative" tests previously. 5) If patients with herpangina are excluded, no significant correlation between type of illness and virus isolation can be drawn from this study. These data are considered further to reemphasize the fact that many Group A Coxsackie viruses are prevalent during the summer, and to support the hypothesis that some patients acquire these viruses while they are in the hospital at a rate similar to that observed in the general community from which the patients come.
Parrott et al. (Tue,) studied this question.