New, More Virulent, Adenovirus Strain Reported in Clusters

Adenovirus is a common cause of febrile upper respiratory tract infections, conjunctivitis, gastrointestinal symptoms, and occasionally pneumonia; it can be quite severe in infants and the elderly. The CDC recently published a report on 141 patients with severe disease caused by a virulent variant of adenovirus serotype 14 (Ad14).

The initial case of Ad14 infection was reported in May 2006 in New York in an infant; the 140 subsequent cases were seen in clusters between March and June 2007 at a U.S. Air Force base in Texas, at a residential care facility in Washington, and in patients referred to a single hospital in Oregon. Patients ranged in age from 12 days to 82 years; 38% were hospitalized, and 5% died. Ad14 isolates were identical to ea…