Neurologic complications associated with acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis virus infection and its serologic confirmation

Abstract

The etiologic role of acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis (AHC) virus in the paralytic disease that was seen in Bombay as a complication of AHC was serologically explored. Neutralization tests of AHC virus and three types of poliovirus were performed by microplate cell cultures on 27 sera collected in Bombay. No significant titer of AHC virus was found in sera from six healthy individuals without histories of AHC; five of 11 persons with histories of AHC alone and eight of nine patients with histories of AHC and neurologic complications showed titers ≥ 1:16. No significant difference was found among the three groups in level of maintenance of antibody to poliovirus. These results, together with the demonstrated positive neurovirulence test in monkeys, strongly indicate the etiologic significance of AHC virus in the observed paralytic disease.