Adenovirus Adenoviruses (members of the family ''Adenoviridae'') are medium-sized (90–100 nm), nonenveloped (without an outer lipid bilayer) viruses with an icosahedral nucleocapsid containing a double-stranded DNA genome. Their name derives from the ...

serotype 14 (Ad14) is a

serovar A serotype or serovar is a distinct variation within a species of bacteria or virus or among immune cells of different individuals. These microorganisms, viruses, or cells are classified together based on their surface antigens, allowing the epi ...

of adenovirus which, unlike other adenovirus serovars, is known to cause potentially fatal

adenovirus infection Adenovirus infection is a contagious viral disease, caused by ''Adenoviruses'', commonly resulting in a respiratory tract infection. Typical symptoms range from those of a common cold, such as nasal congestion, coryza and cough, to difficulty bre ...

s. According to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

(CDC), as of September 2007, outbreaks have been identified in four states in the U.S., with ten identified deaths since May 2006.

Symptoms

The virus shows symptoms typical of adenoviral infections. Although these infections are common in humans, they are rarely fatal. Symptoms include: # Cold symptoms, such as coughing, sore throat, sneezing, and a runny nose #

Pharyngitis Pharyngitis is inflammation of the back of the throat, known as the pharynx. It typically results in a sore throat and fever. Other symptoms may include a runny nose, cough, headache, difficulty swallowing, swollen lymph nodes, and a hoarse voice ...

Bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

Diarrhea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...

Pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

Conjunctivitis Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, is inflammation of the conjunctiva, outermost layer of the white part of the eye and the inner surface of the eyelid. It makes the eye appear pink or reddish. Pain, burning, scratchiness, or itchiness may ...

Fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...

Cystitis A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection that affects part of the urinary tract. When it affects the lower urinary tract it is known as a bladder infection (cystitis) and when it affects the upper urinary tract it is known as a kidney ...

(bladder inflammation) #

Rash A rash is a change of the human skin which affects its color, appearance, or texture. A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, chapped, dry, cr ...

illness The viral infection presents with symptoms similar to those of other common

bacterial Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

and viral infections, such as

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

Genetics

Ad14 is a rare emerging virus that can cause severe respiratory infection, which can sometimes be fatal, even in healthy young adults. Ad14 isolates from all four states where outbreaks occurred were identical, based on

DNA sequencing DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence – the order of nucleotides in DNA. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. Th ...

. However, the isolates were distinct from the 1955 Ad14 reference strain. This suggests that a new Ad14 variant is emerging and spreading in the United States.

History

At least 140 illnesses have been caused by Ad14 in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Of these patients, 53 were hospitalized, 24 of whom were admitted to

intensive-care unit 220px, Intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensiv ...

s. In all reported cases, the isolated Ad14 strain was found to be genetically identical.

New York

The first death was that of a 12-day-old girl, born full-term and healthy, in New York in May 2006. Ad14 was isolated from postmortem swabs. No connection has been made between this case and cases in other states.

Texas

In February 2007, an outbreak of acute respiratory infections with

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...

was reported among trainees at

Lackland Air Force Base Lackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located in Bexar County, Texas. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and an enclave of the city of Sa ...

(LAFB) in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

. Of patients tested, 268 were positive for adenovirus. Of 118 serotyped patients, 106 (90%) were identified as Ad14. A total of 27 patients were hospitalized, one of whom, a nineteen-year-old

Airman Basic Airman basic (AB) is the lowest enlisted rank in the United States Air Force immediately below airman. The pay grade for airman basic is E-1. As opposed to all other USAF enlisted and officer ranks, airman basic has no rank insignia affiliated. ...

, Paige Villers, died in the ICU. As of April 2009 another airman has died of this virus. Steadily declining numbers of cases continued to be reported at LAFB through November 2007, with only 39 positive for Ad14 that month. Cases have also been reported from three other Texas military bases, but no positive connection has been made with the cases at LAFB.

Oregon

In early April 2007, 17 patients were reported to have been admitted at an Oregon hospital for severe

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

within the past month. Samples from 15 of these were positive for Ad14. The Oregon Public Health Division later identified samples from 31 patients from November 2006 to April 2007 as positive for Ad14. Oregon reported a total of seven Ad14 deaths.

Washington

In the Washington cases, four cases of Ad14 infection were reported. All the patients were smokers between the ages of 40 and 62. Three suffered from

lung disease The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...

and the fourth had

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

; the latter patient later died.

References

External links

* AP
Cold virus variant blamed in 10 deaths
''Mike Stobbe'' 16 November 2007 * WebMD
Killer Cold Virus Appears in U.S.
''Daniel J. DeNoon '' 15 November 2007 {{Taxonbar, from=Q4682306 Viral respiratory tract infections Adenoviridae