Prevalence of serum antibody to reoviruslike agent in hospital patients in Israel

The prevalence of antibody to reoviruslike agent was studied in serum from 350 hospitalized patients in the Tel Aviv area by the complement-fixation technique, with calf diarrhea virus as the antigen. There were 217 (62%) serum samples that showed evidence of antibody to reoviruslike agent. The highest prevalence was noted in postpartum women (95%) and in infants under one month of age (93%), the latter probably as the result of placental transfer. The presence of antibody declined rapidly in the first six months of life and rose sharply after this age. These findings accord with the high incidence of reoviruslike agent infection in these age groups, as previously reported. Above the age of three years, the prevalence of detectable antibody remained stable, ranging from 54.5 to 81.0% in various age groups.