Virologic Studies of Acute Respiratory Disease in Young Adults

Hamre, D. and M. Beem (DepL Pediatrics, Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, III. 60637). Virologic studies of acute respiratory disease in young adults. V. Coronavirus 229E infections during six years of surveillance. Am J Epidemiol 96: 94–106, 1972.—In a surveillance study of acute respiratory disease in medical students that spanned six consecutive seasons between 1961 and 1968 and encompassed 937 student years of observation, infection with coronavirus 229E was identified by virus isolation and serologic studies. Virus isolation identified 12 infections, 8 in one season, 4 in another. Complement fixing (CF) antibody titer rises identified 133 infections that occurred in all six seasons of surveillance, involving from 15 to 35% of students in three seasons of “high” prevalence, and 1 to 5% in intervening seasons of “low” prevalence. Infection occurred in a winter-spring seasonal pattern and was associated with acute respiratory illness that was not clinically distinctive. Neutralizing antibody to 229E was commonly present in the sera of the students. The level of this did not appear to influence the occurrence of, or likelihood of illness with, reinfection as judged by CF seroconversion; however, the frequency of significant rise in neutralizing antibody titer with reinfection was inversely related to pre-infection levels of this antibody. Infection with other common respiratory viruses did not stimulate significant CF or neutralizing antibody titer rises to 229E.