Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy. Isolations of ECHO Type 7 Virus

Viral isolations were made from 7 of 10 infants dying a sudden and unexpected death. Forty-five specimens, including brain, lung, liver, whole blood, and stool, were included for the study. Nine of 12 isolations were identified as ECHO 7 virus—2 isolations from the brain, 2 from the lung, 2 from the liver, and 3 from stool. Two of the remaining isolates were identified as polio 1 virus and polio 2 virus, respectively, the former obtained from both liver and stool in one individual and the latter from the stool only of a second infant. The final isolate was ECHO 22 virus obtained from a single stool specimen.