Adenovirus infection encompasses an array of clinical syndromes that can be caused by adenoviruses, ranging from benign and self-limiting upper respiratory illness to life-threatening conjunctival infection in neonates, hemorrhagic cystitis and severe disseminated infection of various tissues. Microbiological testing is pivotal in order to make the diagnosis, primarily through methods that are able to detect viral deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in patient samples.
Presentation
Adenoviruses, belonging to the group of double-stranded positive (+) sense DNA viruses, are a large group of pathogens responsible for numerous types of human disease [1] [2]. They are divided into six subgroups (A, B, C, D, E, and F) and more than 60 different serotypes have been described in the literature [1] [2] [3]. Common modes of transmission include the fecal-oral, direct contact with infected secretions, and respiratory spread, suggesting that the virus is able to cause local outbreaks [3] [4]. As the pediatric population is the age group where adenovirus infections are most prevalent, kindergartens, summer or college camps and schools are the main sites of outbreaks [5]. In addition, hospital-based (nosocomial) and severe, sometimes even life-threatening outbreaks have known to occur [3]. Adenovirus infection is seen across all ages and gender, although immunocompromised hosts seem to be at an increased risk compared to the immunocompetent [1]. The clinical presentation of adenovirus infection depends on the organ or tissue affected. Keratoconjunctivitis ( the principal form of the disease that causes outbreaks) manifests with fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and malaise, usually after an incubation period of 1-14 days, whereas rhinitis, fever, and cervical lymphadenopathy are typical for pharyngoconjunctival fever (PCF) [5]. Other notable infections caused by adenovirus are those of the respiratory tract (both lower and upper), gastroenteritis, central nervous system infection (CNS), and hemorrhagic cystitis [1]. Neonatal adenovirus infection, despite being rare, is a frequently fatal disease characterized by severe forms of conjunctivitis (as a result of viral transmission from the mother), cyanosis, respiratory failure, fever and a rash in neonates [6].
Entire Body System
- Fever
The elder brother developed a high fever and was diagnosed with HAdV infection with an immunochromatographic kit for HAdV (IC-kit). He was transferred to our institute after persistent fever for 7 days. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
[…] typical for pharyngoconjunctival fever (PCF). [symptoma.com]
Adenovirus types 3 and 7 cause a distinct syndrome of conjunctivitis, pharyngitis, and fever (pharyngoconjunctival fever). Rare adenoviral syndromes in infants include severe bronchiolitis and pneumonia. [merckmanuals.com]
Bring down a fever. Ask your doctor if you can give your child acetaminophen ( Tylenol ) or ibuprofen ( Motrin ) to relieve aches and fever. [webmd.com]
Pharyngoconjunctival fever causes very red eyes, a sore throat, fever, runny nose, and swollen glands. Keratoconjunctivitis is a more severe eye infection that involves both the conjunctiva and cornea (the transparent front part of the eye). [kidshealth.org]
- Weakness
Infants (especially newborns and premature babies), people with weak immune systems, and healthy children and adults with severe adenovirus infections may need antiviral medicine and treatment in a hospital. [kidshealth.org]
Medical Treatment TOP Infections can be more severe in people with a weak immune system. This may include people with organ transplants, HIV/AIDS, or chronic diseases. Medication may be needed to reduce the intensity of the infection. [health.cvs.com]
Symptoms and Types Typical symptoms of adenovirus infection include: Weight loss Diarrhea Weakness Depression Unfortunately, some animals may die so quickly that these clinical signs do not have a chance to develop fully. [petmd.com]
- High Fever
The elder brother developed a high fever and was diagnosed with HAdV infection with an immunochromatographic kit for HAdV (IC-kit). He was transferred to our institute after persistent fever for 7 days. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
[…] vision Swelling of eyelids Foreign body sensation within eye Symptoms of Meningitis and Encephalitis High Fever Stiff neck Headache Seizures Confusion and Sleepiness Nausea and Vomiting Skin Rash Symptoms of Urinary Tract Infection Fever Rash Burning [epainassist.com]
Call the doctor if your child has a high fever or his symptoms don't get better within a few days to a week. If your baby appears to be sick, call the doctor right away. [kidspot.com.au]
Pharyngoconjunctival fever is a specific presentation of adenovirus infection, manifested as: high fever that lasts 4–5 days pharyngitis (sore throat) conjunctivitis (inflamed eyes, usually without pus formation like pink eye) enlargement of the lymph [en.wikipedia.org]
- Lymphadenopathy
Figure 4: Lymphadenopathy. A large pre-auricular node can be palpated and visible on examination by studying the shadowing and elevation of the skin. [eyerounds.org]
Keratoconjunctivitis ( the principal form of the disease that causes outbreaks) manifests with fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and malaise, usually after an incubation period of 1-14 days, whereas rhinitis, fever, and cervical lymphadenopathy are [symptoma.com]
HAdV infection also shows KD-like symptoms such as conjunctival injection, red cracked lips, and cervical lymphadenopathy. However, skin erythema and swollen red palms and soles followed by desquamation are distinctive features of KD. [ped-rheum.biomedcentral.com]
Children may have fever and lymphadenopathy. Malaise and headache are reported. Inflammation may persist for weeks, and residual scarring and visual impairment may occur. [emedicine.medscape.com]
- Malaise
Keratoconjunctivitis ( the principal form of the disease that causes outbreaks) manifests with fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and malaise, usually after an incubation period of 1-14 days, whereas rhinitis, fever, and cervical lymphadenopathy are [symptoma.com]
[…] a specific presentation of adenovirus infection, manifested as: high fever that lasts 4–5 days pharyngitis (sore throat) conjunctivitis (inflamed eyes, usually without pus formation like pink eye) enlargement of the lymph nodes of the neck headache, malaise [en.wikipedia.org]
[…] involvement) Physical Exam Fever Tonsillar erythema/exudate Cervical lymphadenopathy Otitis media Conjunctivitis Differential Diagnosis Characteristics of adenovirus infections: Acute respiratory illness Mostly in children Incubation period: 2 to 5 days Malaise [unboundmedicine.com]
Malaise and headache are reported. Inflammation may persist for weeks, and residual scarring and visual impairment may occur. [emedicine.medscape.com]
Respiratoric
- Cough
Fever Dehydration Cough with expectoration. [epainassist.com]
Continued Symptoms Each type of adenovirus can affect you differently: Bronchitis : Cough, runny nose, fever, chills Colds and other respiratory infections : Stuffy and runny nose, cough, sore throat, and swollen glands Crou p: Barking cough, trouble [webmd.com]
Adenovirus can cause a cough that sounds like whooping cough (pertussis). Gastroenteritis is an infection of the stomach and intestines. Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, belly pain, and fever. [kidshealth.org]
Cover your sneezes and coughs. [intermountainhealthcare.org]
- Throat Irritation
Adenovirus 14 infections usually begin with cold symptoms such as: a cough, runny nose, and mild fever and possibly throat irritation. [medicinenet.com]
- Dry Cough
Give instructions for saline nasal spray, cough preparations, frequent hand washing, and surface cleaning. [unboundmedicine.com]
Gastrointestinal
- Diarrhea
Enteric viral infectious should be considered in solid organ transplant recipients with chronic diarrhea. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
You can buy medicines at the drugstore that can help stop or slow diarrhea. Do not use these medicines without talking to your provider if you have bloody diarrhea, a fever, or if the diarrhea is severe. Do not give these medicines to children. [mountsinai.org]
Keywords Chilhood diarrhea, adenovirus, acute gastroenteritis, immunochromatographic Öz Amaç: Gastroenteritler enfeksiyonlara bagli ölümler arasinda ilk üç sirada yer almaktadir. [go.gale.com]
Liver, Gall & Pancreas
- Hepatomegaly
Clinical findings included lethargy, fever or hypothermia, anorexia, apnea, hepatomegaly, bleeding, and progressive pneumonia. Thrombocytopenia, coagulopathy, and hepatitis were typical laboratory manifestations. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
Jaw & Teeth
- Exudative Pharyngitis
Health Hazard: PATHOGENICITY: Varies in clinical manifestation and severity; symptoms include fever, rhinitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, cough and conjunctivitis; common cause of nonstreptococcal exudative pharyngitis among children under 3 years; more [viracore.ucsf.edu]
In some series of hospitalized children with documented adenoviral infection high fever, leukocytosis and exudative pharyngitis resembling bacterial infection has been observed. [infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com]
Eyes
- Lacrimation
EKC is characterized by more severe symptoms, including pain, lacrimation, and photophobia. Involvement is frequently unilateral but may spread to involve both eyes. [infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com]
Psychiatrical
- Aggressive Behavior
behavior (finding) Aggressiivinen käyttäytyminen (löydös) Vihamielinen käyttäytyminen 24199005 Feeling agitated (finding) Agitaatio (löydös) Kiihtymisen tunne 83458005 Agitated depression (disorder) Agitoitunut masennus (häiriö) Agitoitunut masennus [slideshare.net]
Neurologic
- Headache
Conjunctival redness and edema Photophobia and blurry vision Swelling of eyelids Foreign body sensation within eye Symptoms of Meningitis and Encephalitis High Fever Stiff neck Headache Seizures Confusion and Sleepiness Nausea and Vomiting Skin Rash [epainassist.com]
fever, stomach cramps Swelling of the brain and spinal cord ( meningitis and encephalitis ): Headache, fever, stiff neck, nausea, and vomiting (this is rare) Urinary tract infections: Burning and pain while urinating, frequent need to go, blood in your [webmd.com]
[…] pharyngitis runny nose rhonchi & rales nasal congestion swollen lymph nodes dry, harsh cough ~ sounds like pertussis cough If adenovirus causes an infection in your gastrointestinal tract, then inflammation and symptoms might involve: fever vomiting headache [healthblurbs.com]
While each child may experience symptoms differently, the most common include: Respiratory infections runny nose sore throat fever severe cough swollen lymph nodes headache feeling of uneasiness non-productive "croupy" cough Intestinal tract infections [childrenshospital.org]
Sudden onset of high fever, rapid infection of upper and lower respiratory tracts, skin rash, diarrhea Mostly in children from newborn to 3 years DDx: bacterial pneumonia, RSV, influenza, parainfluenza Acute pharyngoconjunctival fever Spiking fever, headache [unboundmedicine.com]
Workup
Despite the nonspecific signs and symptoms of an adenovirus infection, the physician must perform a thorough physical examination and obtain a detailed patient history. Patients (or parents of the infected children) should be asked about similar symptoms in people with whom they were in contact (schools, kindergartens, camps, other crowded areas), as it may provide valuable clues toward the diagnosis. To confirm adenovirus infection, a comprehensive microbiological investigation is necessary. It must be pointed out that detection of adenoviruses readily occurs in asymptomatic individuals, and thus the term adenovirus infection does not always imply to a disease state [3]. In the presence of symptoms, however, the identification of this virus is highly suggestive that it is responsible for their onset. Direct methods in the form of isolation of virus in cultures or antigen/viral DNA detection from patient samples are recommended diagnostic tests, but since up to 3 weeks are necessary for viral cultures to yield conclusive results, the focus of diagnostics is turned to the latter method [1] [3]. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the gold standard for both screening and diagnostic purposes [1] [3]. Based on the clinical and microbiological criteria, an adenovirus infection may be probable (absence of histologic criteria in the presence of typical symptoms) or proven (both microbiological and corresponding clinical confirmation), which can be further divided into local (when the virus is isolated from local specimens and not peripheral blood) or systemic (detection of virus in peripheral blood along with clinical manifestation) [2].
Serum
- Leukopenia
Xu B, Liu L, Huang X et al (2011) Metagenomic analysis of fever, thrombocytopenia and leukopenia syndrome (FTLS) in Henan Province, China: discovery of a new bunyavirus. [doi.org]
Treatment
The optimal surveillance and treatment strategies are under discussion. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
Prognosis
There are several reports of adenovirus infections in adult solid organ transplant recipients and the prognosis is usually poor, with mortality rates of 40% to 60%. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
The prognosis declines as the severity of disease increases. [medicinenet.com]
ADENOVIRUSES have been isolated from symptomless infants and children as well as from patients with mild febrile inflammatory processes involving the conjunctivas, upper respiratory tract, lungs and intestine. 1 In general, the prognosis at all ages is [nejm.org]
Etiology
Adenovirus detection should be included in the diagnostic testing to determine the infectious etiology of fever and/or respiratory symptoms in SLE patients. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
[…] of diseases in human communities. 2. the field of medicine concerned with the determination of the specific causes of localized outbreaks of infection, such as hepatitis, of toxic disorders, such as lead poisoning, or any other disease of recognized etiology [vdh.virginia.gov]
Epidemiology
Bulletin Archive Contact Us Laurie Forlano, DO, MPH, State Epidemiologist Director, Office of Epidemiology 109 Governor Street, 6th Floor East Richmond, VA 23219 Phone: (804) 864-8141 Fax: (804) 864-8139 Contact Us by Email [vdh.virginia.gov]
Article Navigation Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases and Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City Search for other works by this author on: Gregory C. [doi.org]
‡Associate professor of epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health. [nejm.org]
Prospective studies using molecular epidemiologic techniques will be helpful in evaluating transmission patterns of adenovirus in this population. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
Pathophysiology
31, 40, and 41 are mostly reported in infants; 2, 3, and 5 mostly in children It is not well understood why specific serotypes are associated with specific syndromes; however, differences in mode of transmission and viral tropism likely play a role Pathophysiology [pathologyoutlines.com]
Many adenovirus infections are subclinical or asymptomatic. 15–70% of conjunctivitis worldwide Etiology and Pathophysiology DNA virus 60 to 90 nm in size, 6 species (A through F) with >50 known serotypes Adenovirus can remain dormant in lymphoreticular [unboundmedicine.com]
Pathophysiology Adenovirus is a double-stranded DNA virus that measures 70-90 nm and that has an icosahedral capsid. [emedicine.medscape.com]
Res. 7 : 39S. 12. ( 2000 ) Pathophysiology of the human adenovirus that induces adiposity in animals. FASEB J 14 : A732 (abs.). 13. ( 1998 ) Evidence for an association of an obesity virus with human obesity at three sites in the United States. Int. [jn.nutrition.org]
Prevention
Abstract This article outlines the evolution of a rescue team in responding to adenovirus prevention with a deployable field hospital. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
Hence, it seems that whether one serves as a public-health professional concerned about preventing adenovirus epidemics, a clinician concerned about protecting immunocompromised patients or preventing chronic disease, or a water-quality engineer, one [doi.org]
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention--National Center for Infectious Diseases—Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, Respiratory and Enteric Viruses Branch [en.wikipedia.org]
Prevention of Adenovirus Infection The vaccine to prevent recurrent adenovirus infection has been discontinued in USA and not produced for prevention. [epainassist.com]
How can adenovirus infection be prevented? There is no vaccine generally available to prevent adenovirus infection. Good health habits can help prevent adenovirus infection. [vdh.virginia.gov]
References
- Ison MG. Adenovirus infections in transplant recipients. Clin Infect Dis. 2006;43(3):331-339.
- Lion T. Adenovirus Infections in Immunocompetent and Immunocompromised Patients. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2014;27(3):441-462.
- Echavarría M. Adenoviruses in Immunocompromised Hosts. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2008;21(4):704-715.
- Lee J. Mixed Respiratory Viral Infections in Children with Adenoviral Infections. Infection & Chemotherapy. 2016;48(4):347-349.
- Ghebremedhin B. Human adenovirus: Viral pathogen with increasing importance. Eur J Microbiol Immunol (Bp). 2014;4(1):26-33.
- Elnifro EM, Cooper RJ, Dady I, Hany S, Mughal ZM, Klapper PE. Three Nonfatal Cases of Neonatal Adenovirus Infection. J Clin Microbiol. 2005;43(11):5814-5815.