Characteristics of adenovirus infection in children with acute respiratory tract infection.

Objective To investigate the characteristics of adenovirus infection in children with acute respiratory tract infection.Methods From May to June 2009,492 out-patients with acute respiratory tract infection were involved in our study.One throat swab specimen was collected from each patient.(RT)PCRs were performed to detect common respiratory tract viruses including respiratory syncytial virus(RSV),rhinovirus(RV),influzenza virus type A and B(IFA,IFB),parainfluenza virus(PIV)type 1～4,adenovirus(AdV),enterovirus(EV),human coronavirus(HCoV),human metapneumonia virus(hMPV)and human bocavirus(HBoV).AdV amplicons were cloned and sequenced to determine the AdV serotypes by using Blast and phylogenetic analysis.Results At least one viral pathogen was detected in 165 out of 492 patients and the overall positive rate was 33.5%.AdV was detected in 53(10.8%)specimens and it was the most common viral pathogen.Of the 53 AdV postive samples,3 subgroups and 7 serotypes were found.AdV serotype 3(23/53)was the major serotype,followed by serotype 7(8/53)and serotype 1(7/53).Conclusion There were several AdV serotypes circulating in the spring of 2009 in Beijing area and serotype 3 was the predominant strain.AdV still playes an important role in acute respiratory tract infection in children.