Effect of malnutrition on rotavirus infection in suckling mice: kinetics of early infection.

The effects of malnutrition on the viral replication pattern and severity of clinical disease were examined in suckling mice infected with mouse rotavirus (MRV). The infection in malnourished animals was characterized by a significant decrease in the minimal infectious dose and in the incubation period of the onset of diarrhea, when compared to well-nourished controls. Viral replication in the dispersed enterocytes was observed 6-12 hr earlier, fecal viral shedding peaked significantly earlier, and the clinical disease appeared to be more severe in the malnourished animals than in the controls. These observations provide strong evidence for malnutrition-induced alterations in the pathogenesis of rotaviral infection in vivo.