Outbreak of adenovirus genome type 7d2 infection in a pediatric chronic-care facility and tertiary-care hospital

Abstract

An outbreak of adenovirus infection that involved residents of a pediatric chronic-care facility, staff of a tertiary-care hospital, and a nosocomial hospital case was studied. In the pediatric facility, 31 (33%) of 93 residents had adenovirus infection, and 8 died. Risk factors for illness were an age of < 7 years (P = .004), presence of a tracheostomy (P = .015), and residence on a particular floor (P < .001). In the tertiary-care hospital, 36 health care workers had adenovirus infection; 26 (72%) had failed to follow strict contact and droplet precautions, and 30 (83%) continued to care for patients while they had symptoms. A 5-month-old patient with underlying lung disease acquired severe adenovirus infection in this hospital. All isolates were adenovirus type 7 (Ad7). DNA restriction analysis revealed the band patterns of all isolates to be identical and characteristic of the genome type d2. Thus, Ad7d2 caused significant morbidity and mortality in persons in the pediatric chronic-care facility and tertiary-care hospital. This is the first published description of Ad7d2 strains in the United States.