Adenovirus Disease: Symptoms, Causes, Risk Factors, Spread, Epidemiology, and Diagnosis – Adenovirus is a family of viruses that can cause a wide variety of diseases in humans, ranging from common colds to gastrointestinal infections and red eyes.
Now, scientists have used the virus as a base ingredient in several types of Covid-19 vaccines, including the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and the AstraZemeca vaccine.
According to a 2019 report in the journal Scientific Reports, there are 88 types of adenoviruses that can infect humans and are grouped into 7 different species, from A to G.
The virus circulates throughout the year, which means it does not occur seasonally, such as influenza viruses. Adenoviruses can also infect a variety of vertebrate animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles and fish.
Adenovirus Disease Symptoms
Infection of this virus usually only causes mild symptoms and can heal itself within a few days. But this virus can cause serious problems in people with weakened immune systems, especially children. Adenoviruses can also cause an epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC) and are thought to be responsible for an outbreak of respiratory disease that occurred in 1997. Like influenza viruses, adenoviruses are often found in latent infections in healthy people.
Symptoms of respiratory diseases caused by adenovirus infections range from the common cold syndrome to pneumonia, croup, and bronchitis. Patients with vulnerable immune systems can experience severe complications from adenovirus infection. Acute respiratory disease (ARI), first discovered among military recruits during World War II, can be caused by adenovirus infection during crowding and stressful conditions.
Adenovirus Disease Causes
Adenoviruses are most common due to cold. They also cause a number of other types of infections.
Adenovirus Disease Risk Factors
Factors, which increase the risk of adenovirus infection:
- Childhood;
- Exposure to coughing or sneezing from an infected person;
- Exposure to fecal contamination (e.g., zarazhennaya water, poor hygiene);
- Consumption of food contaminated with flies;
- Transmission from person to person, especially being in close contact with others (for example, in military units);
- Swim in a lake or pond.
How Adenovirus Disease Spread
Like colds and flu, adenovirus infections usually spread through respiratory secretions when a person coughs or sneezes.
But these viruses are tougher than flu and cold viruses: They can live long on surfaces such as doorknobs or towels and they are resistant to many common disinfectants. This makes them very easy to spread from one person to another.
Adenoviruses can also be spread through fecal contamination, for example, when diapers are changed or in swimming pools.
Adenovirus outbreaks tend to be more common in indoor environments such as treatment facilities or in schools or military barracks.
Adenovirus Disease Epidemiology
The source of infection is a sick person who releases the virus into the environment during the course of the disease, as well as a carrier of the virus. Isolation of the virus occurs from the upper respiratory tract, with feces, or tears. The role of the carrier of the virus “healthy” in the transmission of infection is quite significant. The maximum time of the release of the virus is 40-50 days.
Adenoviral conjunctivitis can be a nosocomial infection. The mechanism of transmission is by air, fecal-oral. Ways of transmission: air, food, household contact. Possible intrauterine infection in the fetus. Vulnerability is high. Most children and teenagers are sick. Seasonally not critical, but in winter, the incidence of adenoviral infection increases, with the exception of pharyngoconjunctival fever, which is diagnosed in the summer.
The nature of the epidemic process is largely determined by the type 7 of the adenovirus. Epidemics caused by adenoviruses type 1, 2, 5, rare, type 3, 7 are more common. After the illness, the immunity of a particular species is formed.
Adenovirus infection disease diagnosis
The doctor makes a diagnosis based on a physical examination. If necessary, you may need the results of this analysis:
- Blood;
- Urine,
- Mucus;
