Language

English

Publication Date

6-16-2025

Journal

Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society

DOI

10.1093/jpids/piaf051

PMID

40448269

Abstract

Background: Human adenovirus (HAdV) is a common cause of pediatric acute respiratory illness (ARI). HAdV-B, -C, and -E species have been associated with ARI, though relative detection frequencies in United States (U.S.) and respective roles in symptomatic respiratory infections remain unclear.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter, prospective viral surveillance study at 7 U.S. children's hospitals comprising the New Vaccine Surveillance Network from January 12, 2016 to November 30, 2019. Children < 18 years old in the emergency department or hospitalized with fever and/or respiratory symptoms were enrolled, and respiratory specimens were tested for HAdV and other viral pathogens. HAdV-positive specimens were subsequently typed using single-plex real-time PCR assays targeting sequences in the hexon gene. Demographics, clinical characteristics, and outcomes (hospitalization and supplemental oxygen use as severity indicators) were compared between HAdV-B and HAdV-C species.

Results: Of the 29 381 children with ARI, 1843 (6.3%) had HAdV detected, with 1402 specimens (76.0%) successfully typed. HAdV-C was the most frequently detected species (73.0%), followed by HAdV-B (22.3%). Children with HAdV-C were younger than those with HAdV-B and more likely to have another respiratory pathogen. Among children without other detected respiratory pathogens, those with HAdV-C had lower odds of hospitalization compared with children with HAdV-B (aOR: 0.44, 95% CI, 0.27-0.73, P =.001).

Conclusions: In our study among children seen in the emergency department or hospitalized with ARI, those with HAdV-C had lower odds of hospitalization compared with HAdV-B. These findings warrant further assessment to identify which HAdV types contribute to illness severity.

Keywords

Humans, Male, Female, Child, Preschool, Child, Respiratory Tract Infections, Adenoviruses, Human, Prospective Studies, Infant, Adenovirus Infections, Human, United States, Adolescent, Acute Disease, Hospitalization, adenovirus, epidemiology, pediatric, respiratory, species, types

Published Open-Access

yes

Download

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.