Molecular analysis demonstrated that rapid recurrence of enteroviral meningitis in infants can be caused by reinfection with different viral strains rather than recrudescence.
Recurrent enteroviral meningitis in infants may reflect reinfection; case report leaves open need for prospective strain-typing studies.
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.
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Aintablian et al. (1995) studied this question.
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