Observations on the Complement-Fixing Antibody Response to Poliovirus in Patients with Certain Coxsackie and Echo Virus Infections

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Abstract
Summary: Sera of 579 patients with laboratory evidence of Coxsackie, ECHO, mumps, herpes simplex, WEE, SLE, or unidentified enterovirus infections were tested against unheated poliomyelitis complement-fixing (CF) antigens. Only 26 of these individuals manifested a 4-fold or greater rise in poliovirus antibody, and in four instances the antibody rises were attributable to a recent poliomyelitis vaccination or to dual infection. The titers of the heterologous antibody were generally low. It was observed that a high proportion (18%) of the patients with ECHO 9 virus infection and with no evidence of a dual infection or of vaccination against poliomyelitis, showed 4-fold or greater rises in CF antibody titer to the polioviruses. This was the only nonpoliovirus showing definite evidence of a possible sharing of common antigen(s) with the polioviruses.