MULTIPLE VIRUS ISOLATIONS IN CHILDREN WITH ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC-LEUKEMIA

Seventy-two children receiving treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and 796 control children were surveyed virologically. In 20 of the 99 infective episodes (20 per cent), concurrent multiple virus isolations occurred. Dual isolations occurred twice in two children and in one child three viruses were present simultaneously. This rate of multiple virus isolation is significantly greater than that observed (2·5 per cent) in the control children. Only five episodes of multiple virus isolation in the children with ALL were not associated with serious illness. There was not a close relationship between lymphopenia and the presence of multiple virus isolation. The recognition of this phenomenon is one step towards a better understanding of the nature of virus infections in children with ALL. © 1979 The British Society for the Study of Infection.