Coxsackie B virus infections in New Zealand patients with cardiac and non-cardiac diseases.

From 1979 to 1981, a total of 910 cardiac patients and 776 noncardiac patients were studied and compared for evidence of coxsackie B virus infections. Of 78 cardiac patients with coxsackie B infection, 30 had pleurodynia, 18 myocarditis, and 20 pericarditis. The age-adjusted rates of infection per 100 cases of defined category were 7.2, 13.3, and 7.0, respectively. Of 69 noncardiac patients with coxsackie B infection, 27 presented with pyrexia of unknown origin, 14 with upper respiratory tract infection, and 9 with meningitis. The age-adjusted rates of infection per 100 population were 10.6, 11.0, and 8.4, respectively. The sex-specific, age-adjusted rates for both cardiac and noncardiac patients were generally higher in male than female. For cardiac patients, the highest percentage with coxsackie B virus infection occurred in the 20-39-year age group, while in the noncardiac group, it was the 0-19-year age group. Coxsackie B2 and B4 were the two most prevalent serotypes found in both cardiac and noncardiac patients. Coxsackie B infections occurred mainly during summer and autumn. The level of coxsackie B immunity in 1,020 normal persons aged 1-60 years and from all 18 health districts of New Zealand was studied. The geometric mean titre of antibody from these normal persons was highest for serotypes B2 and B4. The least prevalent type antibody was B6 where 970(95.1%) of normal persons tested had no antibody to this serotype. The percentage of normal persons with antibody-type present were 30.4, 63.4, 54.1, 71.3, and 51.8 for B1-5, respectively.