Bishop R F, Hewstone A S, Davidson G P, Townley R R, Holmes I H, Ruck B J
J Clin Pathol. 1976 Jan;29(1):46-9. doi: 10.1136/jcp.29.1.46.
During December 1974, an epidemic of diarrhoea occurred in the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, in a ward caring for neonates with acute or chronic medical and surgical problems. Electron microscopy of diarrhoeal faeces revealed a reovirus-like particle ('duovirus' or 'rotavirus') known to cause acute enteritis in older children. This virus is considered to have been primarily involved in the aetiology of the epidemic. In addition, three 'enteropathogenic' serotypes of Escherichia coli were isolated from babies during the epidemic, but none produced enterotoxin when tested in ligated ileal loops of rabbits or in monolayers of Y1 adrenal cells. Further epidemics of neonatal diarrhoea must be studied using culture and electron microscopy of faeces to determine the relative importance of this virus and of E. coli in the aetiology of diarrhoea in this age-group.
1974年12月期间，墨尔本皇家儿童医院的一个病房里爆发了腹泻疫情，该病房收治患有急慢性内科和外科疾病的新生儿。对腹泻粪便进行电子显微镜检查发现了一种呼肠孤病毒样颗粒（“双病毒”或“轮状病毒”），已知这种病毒会导致大龄儿童患急性肠炎。这种病毒被认为是此次疫情病因的主要因素。此外，疫情期间从婴儿身上分离出了三种“致肠道病变型”大肠杆菌血清型，但在兔结扎回肠袢或Y1肾上腺细胞单层培养中进行检测时，均未产生肠毒素。必须通过对粪便进行培养和电子显微镜检查来研究新生儿腹泻的进一步疫情，以确定这种病毒和大肠杆菌在该年龄组腹泻病因中的相对重要性。
