Acute Infectious Nonbacterial Gastroenteritis: Intestinal Histopathology

Abstract

Intestinal biopsy specimens were obtained from normal volunteers before, during, and after administration of the Norwalk agent of acute infectious nonbacterial gastroenteritis. The small intestine of acutely ill volunteers had an intact mucosa but showed histologic changes that included blunting of villi, shortening of microvilli, dilation of endoplasmic reticulum, and an increase in intracellular multivesiculate bodies. Convalescence biopsy specimens, obtained 2 weeks after illness, showed normal histologic patterns. Specimens obtained from volunteers who remained clinically well did not show histologic changes at any time. At the time of illness, brush-border enzyme activities (alkaline phosphatase, sucrase, and trehalase) were decreased as compared with base-line and convalescent values. Thus definite but reversible pathophysiologic lesions of the small intestine in man were seen during acute gastroenteritis induced by a viral agent.