Newborns with coxsackie B 5 meningitis can mount a rapid antibody response and survive the infection, despite being more severely ill than their mothers.
17 newborn infants with coxsackie B 5 meningitis are presented. One case probably had intrauterine infection with suspected myocarditis. In all but the first 2 cases the diagnosis was based on virus isolation and/or antibody rise. The newborn babies were more severely ill than their mothers. The antibody formation in the newborn was rapid and high antibody titres were observed. All the babies survived.
Rantakallio et al. (Wed,) studied this question.