Seroconversion patterns to four human rotavirus serotypes in hospitalized infants with acute rotavirus gastroenteritis

J Infect Dis. 1988 Sep;158(3):588-95. doi: 10.1093/infdis/158.3.588.

Abstract

We studied rotavirus-specific antibodies in paired sera from 71 hospitalized infants with acute rotavirus gastroenteritis. Most of the infants were less than six months old. Infants with serological evidence of a secondary rotavirus infection were excluded. With an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, 46% of the 71 infants studied showed specific IgM in convalescent sera. Titers of specific IgG and IgA increased in 7% and 2% of the infants, respectively. The presence of specific IgM correlated positively with age and severity of clinical symptoms. With a neutralization test, 59% of the infants showed a seroconversion: 20% to a single serotype (7% to serotype 1, 7% to serotype 3, and 6% to serotype 4), 21% seroconverted to two serotypes (nearly exclusively to serotypes 1 and 3), and 18% seroconverted to three serotypes (exclusively to serotypes 1, 3, and 4). No infant seroconverted to serotype 2 or to the heterologous (bovine) serotype 6.

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Antibodies, Viral / biosynthesis*
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Female
  • Gastroenteritis / immunology*
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin A / biosynthesis
  • Immunoglobulin G / biosynthesis
  • Immunoglobulin M / biosynthesis
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Neutralization Tests
  • Rotavirus / classification
  • Rotavirus / immunology*
  • Rotavirus Infections / immunology*
  • Serotyping

Substances

  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Immunoglobulin A
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Immunoglobulin M