Adenoviruses typically infect the membranes of the respiratory tract, eyes, or intestines, and are usually not serious.
Like many viral classifications, the term "adenovirus" is actually descriptive of a family of viruses, classified according to their physical microscopic appearance. Adenoviruses of one sort or another can appear in almost all mammals and many non-mammalian animals.
In humans, they are primarily known for being responsible for a number of respiratory infections, including pharyngitis (infection of the pharynx), acute respiratory disease, pneumonia, and others, including the common cold. In recent years, antiviral medications have been developed that try to interrupt the process by which some viruses "hijack" the body's cells. Unfortunately, adenovirus infections are characteristically unresponsive to most such medications on the market, and so must usually be allowed to run their course as the body fights the infection, limiting treatment measures to symptom control and measures that can help the body fight its own war, in a manner of speaking, such as maintaining sufficiently high fluid levels, vitamin consumption and the like.
Adenoviruses have a relatively short period of incubation, usually five to eight days, and usually result in a localized infection, meaning that the virus tends to inhabit specific tissues rather than the body as a whole, though whole-body symptoms may occur as a result of the immune struggle in that localized region.
Inoculation against most types of adenovirus is effective, including maternal antibodies received via breast milk and during the prenatal period.
The most common sites of infection are the membranes of the respiratory tract, the GI and urinary tracts, and the eyes. The viruses account for a large portion of acute respiratory infections in children, and in fact are significantly more prominent in children than in adults. Diarrhea or respiratory illness outbreaks are frequently reported by schools and day-care centers because adenoviruses are frequently highly contagious, and because, as with any infection, the sort of close, frequently unsanitary contact achieved between playing children lends itself toward a high rate of contagion. Respiratory adenovirus infection is most common in the winter and spring, while eye infection (conjunctivitis) caused by adenoviruses is most common in the summer months as a result of direct water contact from swimming.
Except in cases of severe infection, treatment is usually limited to symptom management and preemptive inoculation of other potentially vulnerable individuals who may come in contact the infected. As with any viral infection, fluids and the maintenance of good nutrition throughout the period of infection is the best treatment in less than threatening cases.
Any case of acute respiratory infection, severe diarrhea, or conjunctivitis should be examined by a health care professional for potential treatment evaluation and to ensure a proper diagnosis, as each can potentially be the result of a serious infection. Not every cause of these symptoms is necessarily the result of an adenovirus infection, nor is it necessarily viral, and antibiotic treatments or antiviral medications may be in order, especially in more severe cases. Consult a doctor before trusting any amateur diagnosis and before applying any treatment not specifically intended for the symptom to be treated.
by Gareth Sparks
