Features of disease caused by adenovirus

This is an automatically translated article.

1. What is adenovirus disease?

Adenovirus disease is an acute viral disease and usually infects the respiratory tract. The clinical syndrome of adenovirus disease is very diverse, in which, if infected in the upper respiratory tract, the predominant symptom is rhinitis. As for viral infections in the lower respiratory tract, it can be small bronchiolitis and pneumonia.
Adeno – causative agent
Adeno virus belongs to the family Adenoviridae, this virus is divided into two main groups, the group that causes disease in birds is Avi Adenovirus and the group that causes disease in mammals is Mastadenovirus. The virus that causes disease in humans mainly belongs to this group of Mastadenoviruses. To date, researchers have isolated 47 serotypes in humans and several other animal species. In which:
Types 1-5, 7, 14 and 21 both cause pharyngitis and conjunctivitis. Types 40 and 41 often cause acute diarrhea in children. Types 5, 8, 19 often cause more severe diseases. Adeno virus has a genome of double-stranded DNA with a size of 70-80 nm. This virus can survive and infect at 360C for 7 days, 220C for 14 days and 40C for 70 days. This is a virus with relatively stable resistance. However, the adenovirus can lose its virulence rapidly and die at 560C for 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Disease characteristics and diseases caused by adenovirus

As mentioned above, Adeno Virus has many pathogenic serotypes and different serotypes can cause different diseases.
The following are some common diseases caused by Adeno Virus:
Fever, pharyngitis - conjunctivitis
Usually caused by serotypes 3 and 7. The disease will be characterized by acute fever in children and outbreaks. However, some cases of fever and pharyngitis do not appear conjunctivitis.
Bilateral conjunctivitis, edema of eyelids and surrounding tissues
This disease will begin with a mild fever for about 3-5 days accompanied by rhinitis, pharyngitis, swollen lymph nodes on both sides of the neck, eye pain, fear of light, blurred vision,... About 7 days later, the patient appeared small, round infiltrates on the cornea. However, only about 50% of patients develop this condition and, if left untreated, can lead to ulcers. The pathology usually lasts for 2 weeks, in severe cases, it can leave blurred spots on the cornea, these spots can decrease in a few weeks or leave permanent scars.
Acute respiratory infection in adults
This disease is usually caused by type 4 and type 7. The typical presentation of the patient is fever to 39oC, sore throat with symptoms of cough, runny nose and swollen lymph nodes in the neck area. When the doctor conducts a physical exam, he may find signs of swelling in the throat that has spread to the tonsils. In case, the disease progresses to pneumonia, the patient needs to examine the lungs and conduct an X-ray to detect the infiltrated lung area.
Acute diarrhea
Usually caused by Adenovirus type 40 and type 41. This disease is more common at a young age.

Hemorrhagic cystitis
Caused by adenovirus types 11 and 21.
Epidemic of keratitis - conjunctivitis
Adenovirus types 8, 9, and 37 cause, the disease is often spread into epidemics and is related to the common source of infection, which is sore eyes and face towels.

3. Mode of transmission of diseases caused by the Adenovirus

Adenovirus disease usually has the following modes of transmission:
Direct person-to-person contact through respiratory droplets. Transmitted through mucous membranes by swimming or contaminated washing water by secretions from the eyes, nose, and feces of the patient. Indirect contact through utensils of patients infected with Adeno Virus. Transmitted by saliva droplets as airborne particles through the respiratory tract. Transmitted through swimming pools infected with Adeno Virus. The infectious process of diseases caused by Adeno Virus usually occurs in medical clinics, most often in eye clinics. The medical staff in the clinic will be very susceptible to infection, and they will be the next source of infection for their families and people around them.

4. Measures to prevent the epidemic caused by the Adeno Virus

The most effective method to prevent the epidemic caused by the Adeno Virus is to propagate and educate the community and provide necessary information about the diseases caused by the Adeno Virus. Especially during periods of high risk of outbreaks. When people have knowledge about this virus, people can prevent the risk of infecting themselves and the community.
The measures to prevent the epidemic caused by the Adeno Virus can be used:
Prepare a clean water source sufficient for daily life. During the rainy season, floods need to be cleaned and disinfected with chloramine B. Maintain personal hygiene, do not share face towels and wash face towels often with soap. Regularly check standards of water hygiene and environmental sanitation, especially at public swimming pools. Disease caused by Adeno Virus is an infectious disease, so people need to prepare themselves with knowledge about this virus and equip effective prevention methods.
Vinmec International General Hospital examines and treats common nasopharyngitis diseases, head and neck tumors, congenital malformations of the ear, nose and throat area with the most optimal internal and surgical methods for patients, both children and adults. Coming to Vinmec International General Hospital, patients will receive a direct, dedicated and professional examination from a team of qualified and experienced medical staff.
To register for examination and treatment at Vinmec International General Hospital, you can contact Vinmec Health System nationwide, or register online HERE