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In terms of worldwide morbidity and mortality, viral enteritis is one of the most ubiquitous and important infections of the human gastrointestinal tract. Knowledge of the epidemiology and clinical spectrum of viral gastroenteritis is growing rapidly. This is particularly because of the availability of better reagents to detect infections due to Norwalk viruses and astroviruses. Computer-enhanced cryoelectron microscopy has been used to reveal the interrelationships of capsid units in Norwalk and rotavirus. Although no major breakthroughs were reported for rotavirus vaccines, several “experiments of nature” support the concept that protective immunity without disease occurs in nature. Nonimmunologic host defense mechanisms against viral enteritis such as mucins are also being examined in hopes of finding new treatments or prophylactic agents.
Dorsey Bass (Sun,) studied this question.