Etiology of sporadic aseptic meningitis in children in the Leningrad area.

The etiology of sporadic aseptic meningitis among children in the Leningrad area in 1974 was studied. 184 patients and 284 healthy children of the same age groups were studied; altogether 540 stool specimens and 99 cerebrospinal fluid specimens were collected for virus isolations and 162 pairs of sera for virus antibody assays. Mumps virus infection was the etiology of the disease only in 5% of cases. The main etiological role of enteroviruses was proved. Strains most often associated with disease were echoviruses 6 and 14, coxsackievirus A9 and nontypable strains. Additional strains isolated were echoviruses 2, 9, 11 and 20.