Coxsackie B infection in a Scottish general practice

Abstract

The authors describe 38 cases of protracted illness, characterized by varied multisystem symptomatology. Significant antibody titres to Coxsackie B viruses, suggesting recent infection, were found in these 38 patients (47 per cent of 81 cases investigated). The syndrome has many of the features of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), a condition which has frequently been found in closely clustered epidemics but seldom in sporadic or endemic form. The reported cases emerged over a four-year period and fresh cases continue to appear.