Infections and dilated cardiomyopathy in Nigeria.

The relationship of infection to dilated cardiomyopathy is reviewed on the basis of 200 patients seen at University College Hospital, Ibadan. Evidence of infection with Toxoplasma and Coxsackie B viruses is presented. Clinically detectable myocarditis is rare in children, and the preponderance of dilated cardiomyopathy is in patients above the age of 30 years, possibly because there is a long latent period between the initial infection and the development of frank cardiomyopathy. This paper concluded that infections are probably the most important cause of dilated cardiomyopathy in Nigeria.