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Volume 16, Number 1—January 2010
Research

Meningitis and a Febrile Vomiting illness Caused by Echovirus Type 4, Northern Territory, Australia

Peter G. MarkeyComments to Author , Joshua S. Davis, Gerry B. Harnett, Simon H. Williams, and David J. Speers
Author affiliations: Centre for Disease Control, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia (P.G. Markey); Royal Darwin Hospital, Darwin (J.S. Davis); Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia (G.B. Harnett, S.H. Williams, D.J. Speers)

Main Article

Table 2

Prevalence of clinical features and CSF abnormalities in persons affected by echovirus type 4 viral illness, by age group, Northern Territory, Australia, 2007*

Features No. (%) case-patients by age group, y
 Total no. (%) case-patients
<1 1–4 5–14 >15
Clinical features n = 28 n = 6 n = 18 n = 43 N = 95
Fever 28 (100) 6 (100) 17 (94) 32 (74) 83 (87)
Headache 0 (0) 4 (67) 17 (94) 43 (100) 64 (67)
Vomiting 5 (18) 6 (100) 17 (94) 35 (81) 63 (66)
Photophobia† 1 (4) 2 (40) 7 (39) 34 (79) 44 (47)
Diarrhea 16 (57) 0 2 (12) 18 (42) 36 (39)
Neck stiffness 0 1 (17) 9 (50) 21 (51) 31 (33)
Confusion/irritability 16 (57) 2 (33) 2 (11) 7 (17) 27 (29)
Rash
 6 (22)
 2 (33)
 3 (19)
 5 (12)
 16 (17)
CSF abnormalities n = 27 n = 5 n = 15 n = 35 n = 82
Glucose <2.7 mmol/L 7 (27) 0 0 3 (9) 10 (12)
Increased CSF protein‡ 10 (39) 1 (20) 1 (7) 26 (74) 38 (47)
Leukocyte count >5 cells/mL 8 (30) 5 (100) 15 (100) 31 (90) 59 (72)
Leukocyte count >5 cells/mL and >50% monocytes 5 (19) 2 (40) 10 (67) 28 (80) 45 (55)

*CSF, cerebrospinal fluid.
†Presence or absence of clinical features was not discernible in all cases.
‡Age-specific normal values for protein were defined as follows: <1 month, <0.9 mg/L; 1–2 months, <0.77 mg/L; 3 months, 0.6 mg/L; and >3 months, 0.45 mg/L (7).

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