Adenoviruses were first isolated in 1953
from adenoids and tonsils surgically removed from children. Soon after
the recovery of adenoviruses from patients with respiratory illness,
their role as a major cause of febrile infections in young children and
in army recruits was recognized. The illness was originally called acute
respiratory disease (or ARD), but the signs and symptoms are similar to
those of other viral respiratory syndromes, which should replace the
old nonspecific expression.
Adenoviruses are most closely linked with infections of the respiratory
tract and conjunctivae and account for 5 to 8% of all pediatric
respiratory illnesses. They are also an important cause of childhood
diarrhea and have also been implicated in causing myocarditis,
encephalitis, aseptic meningitis, hepatitis, and hemorrhagic cystitis.
Adenoviruses are increasingly recognized as an important cause of
morbidity and mortality in stem cell and solid-organ transplant
recipients.
An effective oral vaccine for adenovirus serotypes 4 and 7 is being used
in US basic military training population since 1971. During the break
in production from 1997 to 2012, adenovirus infections re-emerged as the
major cause of morbidity. After reintroduction of the vaccine, great
reductions in adenovirus related illnesses have been reported.