To prevent nosocomial rotavirus infections in hospitalized children with various non-gastrointestinal diseases, 30 children (mean age five months) received 200 ml of fresh human milk per day in addition to the normal diet for their age. A matched group of children on formula diet served as a control. Fecal samples were routinely screened for rotavirus by a commercial ELISA test. In stools containing rotavirus, the virus RNA segments were analysed by gel electrophoresis to identify the different rotavirus strains. Clinical symptoms were recorded daily and quantified by a score system. Human milk had no effect on the frequency of nosocomial rotavirus infections: ten infected children were fed with human milk and seven were not. However, the severity of the clinical symptoms was clearly reduced: the mean score of clinical symptoms was only half as great and the number of mild or asymptomatic infections was doubled in the group receiving fresh human milk.
SUMMARYWe analysed the reactivity ofenterovirus-specific human IgM and IgG antibodies with the structural proteins ofdifferent enteroviruses by the immunoblot technique. In general, all immunoglobulin G antibodies of the tested sera reacted with capsid polypeptide VP 1 of the viruses tested (echoviruses 9 and 11, coxsackievirus B3 and poliovirus 2). In contrast, enterovirus specific immunoglobulin M antibodies of adults reacted with capsid polypeptides VP 1, VP 2, and/or VP 3 of the viruses mentioned above. The reactions with VP 2 and/or VP 3 were often stronger than with VP 1. lgM antibodies from sera of newborns infected by echovirus 11 reacted with VP 1 and VP 2/3 of echovirus 11 and also with VP 2 and VP 3 of poliovirus 2. Preabsorption experiments indicate that cross-reactive IgG antibodies react with epitopes of VP 1 not present on the surface of intact virus particles. The results from the immunoblot technique were compared to data from microneutralization tests and M-antibody capture radioimmunoassays.
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