Dictionary of Environmental Health
A type of VIRUS. They have a hexon shape, no outer membrane and are stable at low PH, and they are consequently stable in the gut. Adenoviruses have been isolated from every species of mammal, bird and amphibian that has been studied. There are at least forty-seven serotypes that have been identified in man. The serotypes are divided into six sub-groups (A–F), based on a number of criteria, including the severity of the disease that they cause. Infections occur throughout the year and are usually regarded as endemic rather than epidemic. They are slow growing in cell culture, making laboratory isolation difficult, a factor that may result in many infections going undiagnosed.
Various serotypes cause a range of diseases, including infectious infantile respiratory disease, ocular disease and kidney disease.
Person-to-person spread is significant. There is no evidence that they are involved in food-borne or water-borne outbreaks. Adenoviruses can be isolated from the stools of infected patients for up to 2 years following infection. Viruses are excreted in great numbers during the acute stage. Incubation is typically 8–10 days. Symptoms are typically vomiting and fever for 2 days followed by diarrhoea for 9–12 days. This latter may lead to problems of dehydration. Peak virus shedding occurs for 3–13 days. Symptoms are generally mild but the infection accounts for between 4–15 per cent of children hospitalised with gastroenteritis.
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