Coxsackievirus B5 Infection and Aseptic Meningitis in Neonates and Children

In metropolitan Washington, DC, an outbreak of aseptic meningitis in children was recognized in the summer and fall of 1972. Age-specific attack rates were highest in children less than 1 year of age. The incidence of cases showed two peaks: one in July and another in October. Coxsackievirus B5 was associated with cases occurring in July, August, and September, but was not implicated in the October cases. Seventy-six percent of the confirmed coxsackievirus B5 infections in aseptic meningitis patients occurred in infants less than 2 months old. Specific meningeal symptoms were less frequently observed in these young infants, although viral isolations were more common (13 of 15) compared to patients over 2 months of age (four of 19). Analysis of reported coxsackievirus B5 infections in Washington, DC, and the United States as a whole suggests a five- or six-year periodicity.