New genome types of adenovirus types 1, 3, and 5 isolated from stools of children in Brazil

During an epidemiological survey made in São Paulo (Brazil), fecal specimens were periodically collected from 100 randomly chosen babies from birth to the age of 18 months. The stools, routinely collected each month and also collected each time a child presented any sign of disease, were screened for the presence of adenoviruses. Sixteen adenovirus strains, isolated from the stools of healthy and ill children, were characterized by restriction enzyme analysis. Five isolates were from subgenus A, five were from subgenus B, four were from subgenus C, and two were from subgenus D. All but two showed some restriction patterns different from those of the 42 human adenovirus prototypes and all the genome types described up to now. No fastidious adenovirus (subgenus F, serotypes 40 and 41) was encountered in the stools examined. We report here the restriction enzyme analysis of isolates of subgenera B and C. The following new designation genome types are proposed: Ad3e1 (subgenus B) and Ad1d, Ad5a1, and Ad5a2 (subgenus C).

Clinical and microbiologic findings in lambs inoculated with Pasteurella haemolytica after infection with ovine adenovirus type 6

Colostrum-deprived lambs (10 to 20 days old) were inoculated with either ovine adenovirus type 6 (OAV-6; n = 6), Pasteurella haemolytica type A1 (n = 6), or OAV-6 followed by P haemolytica 5 days later (n = 10). Another group (n = 3) served as sham-inoculated controls. Lambs inoculated with OAV-6 or P haemolytica developed mild and moderate respiratory tract disease of 6 and 3 days' duration, respectively. Lambs inoculated with virus and bacteria developed clinical signs of respiratory tract disease of greater intensity and duration (9 days) than with either agent alone. Within 3 hours of bacterial inoculation, all lambs that received P haemolytica were anorectic, listless, and febrile, and had hyperpnea and dyspnea. Ovine adenovirus type 6 was isolated from all virus-inoculated lambs. Although P haemolytica was not recovered from all bacteria-inoculated lambs, it was recovered for a longer period in the group that received both agents. Antibody to OAV-6 was detected in virus-inoculated lambs as early as day 6 after inoculation. The control lambs remained clinically normal and neither virus nor bacteria were recovered at necropsy.

Genome type analysis of certain adenovirus serotypes of subgenus D

The DNA of 19 wild strains of adenovirus types 10 (AV10), 13, 19, 24, and 27 was analysed by five restriction endonucleases (BamHI, BglII, BstEII, HindIII, and SmaI) for their genetic variability and compared with their respective prototypes. Six "AV19a" strains were identical among each other, even with five additional enzymes, but widely different from the prototype. Strains of AV10, 24, and 27 were identical or only slightly different from the respective prototypes. In contrast, three AV13 strains differed in all enzyme patterns from those of the prototype and from one another.

A new subgroup 2 bovine adenovirus proposed as the prototype strain 10

A slowly growing subgroup 2 bovine adenovirus (BAV) strain designated Ruakura 78-5371 was isolated from a yearling heifer with systemic adenovirus infection. Cross neutralization tests and restriction endonuclease analysis of the viral DNA showed the virus to be distinct from the other 9 recognised types of BAV. It is proposed that this strain should be regarded as the prototype strain of the new type BAV-10.

Molecular epidemiology and restriction site mapping of adenovirus 7 genome types

From the United States, the Federal Republic of Germany, and other regions, 168 strains of AV7, isolated between 1961 and 1985, were analyzed by six restriction endonucleases and nine genome types were identified. The enzymes BamHI and HindIII were most discriminative. The genome type D5 (or 7b) predominated with 120 isolates since 1970 in both countries. Strains of D2 (7a) and D4 (7c) were isolated for a limited time, D3 for an extended time period. Several clusters of infections with the same genome type were found. Differences in pathogenicity could not be derived from our data. On the basis of restriction site mapping, most other genome types were similar to D5, one to D2 and one to the prototype (D1). The genomic relation between AV7 and AV3 is discussed and shown by a dendrogram.

Neonatal adenovirus pneumonia

A 13-day-old premature infant with hyaline membrane disease was found to have altered pneumocytes, suggesting viral infection. Pneumocytes had nuclear inclusions that were basophilic or eosinophilic with poorly preserved cytoplasm. Monoclonal antibodies specific for the nucleocapsid of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 applied to formalin-fixed lung sections were nonreactive. Electron microscopy of lung tissue showed the characteristic crystalline arrays of adenovirus. Documented adenovirus infection, while common in infancy and childhood, is rare in the neonatal period. Light microscopic diagnosis of viral infection lacks specificity, and adenovirus infection may be misdiagnosed. The neonatal lung is vulnerable to viruses other than the more commonly found herpes simplex and cytomegalovirus, and viral culture, immunocytochemistry, or electron microscopy should be used when possible.

Keratoconjunctivitis due to adenovirus type 8: a local outbreak

An outbreak of acute keratoconjunctivitis occurred in 24 patients who had visited a private ophthalmology office between July and October 1986. The median incubation period was 12.6 days (range seven to 21 days). Adenovirus type 8 was isolated from three of the five patients in whom cultures were done. This outbreak illustrates the highly contagious nature of adenovirus infection and the potential for transmission during routine office visits.

Genome analysis of adenovirus 4a, a causative agent of pharyngoconjunctival fever and respiratory diseases in Brazil

An outbreak of pharyngoconjunctival fever caused by adenovirus (Ad) occurred in 1976 in Belem (northern Brazil). By restriction endonuclease analysis, it was shown that the type responsible was Ad4a, a variant of Ad4 prototype (Ad4p) and previously described as causative agent of ocular diseases. In an epidemiologic study carried out in Rio de Janeiro and Belem between 1977 and 1986, 148 Ads were isolated from children with respiratory disease. All five Ad4 strains encountered during this study were also Ad4a. This type, circulating in South America, can therefore cause both ocular and respiratory diseases. No Ad4p was isolated during this study. A percent of comigrating restriction fragments of only 50% between Ad4p and Ad4a was calculated from 13 restriction enzyme patterns. The restriction maps of Ad4a for nine endonucleases are presented and compared with those of Ad4p.

Persistent enteral infections with adenovirus types 1 and 2 in infants: no evidence of reinfection

Isolates of adenovirus types 1 and 2, obtained from 11 infants with prolonged faecal excretion (up to 515 days), were compared by DNA restriction analysis with seven standard endonucleases which recognize hexanucleotides and two additional endonucleases which recognize tetranucleotides. In all instances identical genome types were identified in isolates obtained early and late after infection. Our interpretation of these data is that a chronic persistent infection occurred in these children, and not a reinfection with the same serotype.

Genome typing of adenovirus strains isolated from conjunctivitis in Japan, Australia, and the Philippines

DNA restriction endonuclease analysis for genome typing of adenovirus (Ad) DNA was carried out on a total of 65 Ad isolates including serotypes Ad4, Ad7, Ad8, Ad11, Ad19, and Ad37 from patients with epidemic keratoconjunctivitis and acute conjunctivitis obtained in Japan from 1982 to 1986, Australia from 1973 to 1986, and the Philippines in 1984. All 4 isolates of Ad7 in Australia were Ad7b. Four of 6 Ad11 isolates obtained in Japan were typed as Ad11 prototype (Ad11p), and the remaining were identified to be new genome types, designated tentatively as Ad11c and Ad11d. An isolate of Ad11 obtained in Australia was typed as Ad11c. Nine Ad8 isolates in Australia and in the Philippines were typed as Ad8p, but 11 Ad8 isolates in Japan were Ad8b. Thirteen Ad19 isolates were identified as Ad19a. All 3 isolates of Ad37 in Japan and three isolates in Australia before 1982 were typed as Ad37p, however, 5 isolates in Australia after 1983 were identified as a new genome type, designated as Ad37d. In Japan, 10 isolates of Ad4 were identified as Ad4a.

[Significance of adenovirus infections in infancy and early childhood]

Of 418 stool specimens of infants tested, 45 specimens contained adenoviruses, mainly the types 1 and 2, 40 and 41. Infections by these types caused symptoms of the gastrointestinal and the respiratory tract to varying degrees: adenoviruses 40 and 41 frequently caused gastroenteritis, adeno 2 was often associated with diarrhoea, adeno 1 mostly caused illness of the respiratory tract necessitating hospitalization of the infants. As adenoviruses may produce--especially during the first years of life--severe diseases of the respiratory and the gastro-intestinal tract, their detection will be of major importance to the pediatrician, the more so as today's methods of detection of adenoviruses are easier and less time-consuming than in the past.

A new hamster model for adenoviral vaccination

Both adult and baby hamsters infected intranasally with human adenovirus type 5 exhibited virologic, serologic, and histologic evidence of infection. When 8-day old hamsters were infected with 4 x 10(6) pfu, concentrations of virus up to 2 x 10(6) pfu/animal were detected in the lung, peaking on day 2. The minimum infectious dose was 1 x 10(3) pfu/animal. This model may be useful in studies of conventional and recombinant adenoviral vaccines for humans.

Genomic comparison of adenovirus type 3 isolates from patients with acute conjunctivitis in Japan, Australia, and the Philippines

A total of 53 Ad3 isolates obtained from patients with acute conjunctivitis in Japan, Australia, and the Philippines during 1973 to 1986 were analyzed for their genome types with 4 restriction endonucleases, BamHI, BglII, HindIII, and SmaI. Two new genome types designated tentatively as Ad3f and Ad3g were identified by combination of BamHI and BglII in the isolates. The changes of restriction sites and sizes of restriction fragments in newly recognized Ad3f and Ad3g were located at the similar regions reported in other Ad3 genome types by O'Donnell et al (1986) on physical maps of the Ad3 prototype strain GB genome. In Japan, 46 Ad3 isolates obtained from 1983 to 1986 were either Ad3f or Ad3g. Yearly alternation of predominance of both genome types were observed in the northern part of Japan during the period. In Australia, two genome types Ad3p and Ad3f were found in 6 isolates, and the former was observed in the 3 isolates obtained before 1981 and the remaining 3 isolates were obtained after 1983. In the Philippines, the only isolate obtained in 1984 was Ad3p.

Inclusion-body hepatitis in day-old turkeys

Inclusion-body hepatitis was diagnosed in 1-day-old turkeys experiencing above-average mortality. At necropsy, turkeys appeared anemic and had pale yellow livers. Histopathologic examination of affected livers revealed diffuse hepatic degeneration and multifocal necrosis, with approximately 70% of the hepatocytes containing large, basophilic, intranuclear inclusion bodies. An adenovirus was isolated from affected livers and identified as a group I avian adenovirus by indirect immunofluorescence.

Characterization of canine adenovirus type 1 isolated from American black bears

Viruses recovered from tissues taken at necropsy from American black bears were examined by use of immunofluorescence with polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies, virus neutralization with monoclonal antibodies, and restriction endonuclease analyses of the viral genomes. With these techniques, viruses were determined to be canine adenovirus type 1. Seronegative dogs that were inoculated with the virus had clinical signs typical of infectious canine hepatitis, suggesting that the virus, which was virulent for bears, was not a vaccinal strain, but a wild strain of canine adenovirus type 1.

Physical organization of the enteric adenovirus type 41 early region 1A

Enteric adenovirus types 40 and 41 (Ad40 and Ad41), representing subgenus F, differ from all other human adenoviruses by being so fastidious that productive replication does not occur in conventional established cell lines. They are dependent of the Ad5 early regions E1A and E1B since they can not grow in HEK cells, only in 293 HEK cells transformed by Ad5 E1. The overall genetic organization of Ad41 E1A is similar to the E1A region of other characterized human adenoviruses but it is slightly shorter, comprising 1350 bp. The inverted terminal repeat (ITR) at the 5' end of both Ad40 and AD41 consists of 163 nucleotides, being similar to the ITR of Ad12 (subgenus A) and longer than the ITRs of adenoviruses of subgenera B, C, and E. The early mRNA products (12 and 13 S) can be translated into a 222-amino acid (aa) and a 251-aa tentative protein, respectively. In a comparison of the Ad41 251-aa protein with corresponding peptides of Ad12, Ad7, Ad5, and Ad4, three conserved amino acid sequences CS1-CS3 can be found. In the second conserved domain CS2, which is particularly acidic, the homology is very high within all five serotypes compared. Only one among eight conserved amino acids differs in the Ad41 251-aa protein. Within CS1 and CS3 which exhibit a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic character, respectively, the amino acid composition of the Ad41 protein is less conserved than the corresponding regions in all other analyzed adenovirus types. Ten of 16 conserved amino acids in CS1 are shared by Ad41 and 18 of 23 conserved amino acids in CS3 are shared by Ad41.

Two new genome types of adenovirus 7c

Adenovirus type 7 is the type most frequently associated with serious disease. Eighteen different genome types of adenovirus type 7 had been reported up to October 1986. The genome type Ad7c, based on the restriction enzyme profiles of SmaI and BamHI, has been reported from Europe prior to 1969 and more recently from South Africa. Here, we report two new genome types of adenovirus 7 c that have not previously been identified and that have been isolated in South Africa between 1975 and 1986 from children with postmeasles pneumonia. The two new genome types differ from the prototype Ad7c virus in having two (Ad7c1) or one (Ad7c2) extra cleavage sites for the restriction endonuclease EcoRI. These sites have been located at 3.68kb and 5.32kb from the left terminus of the genome map published for the prototype Ad7c strain. A strain resembling the prototype Ad7c was also isolated in 1986 from a case of post measles pneumonia.

Isolation of canine adenovirus-2 from the faeces of dogs with enteric disease and its unambiguous typing by restriction endonuclease mapping

Fifty-four faecal specimens obtained from kennelled dogs with diarrhoeal disease were used to inoculate a range of cell types in tissue culture. Particles resembling adenovirus virions were seen in three specimens and 22 stools yielded an adenovirus upon culture. Viral DNA from each isolate was digested with the restriction endonucleases Bam H1 and Pst 1. Agarose gel electrophoresis revealed identical restriction patterns for all isolates. One isolate, 9228, was selected as a prototype and was compared with reference strains of canine adenovirus-2 (CAV-2) (Manhattan and Toronto A26/61) and CAV-1. Isolate 9228 was clearly distinct from CAV-1 but identical to both Manhattan and Toronto (A26/61) strains of CAV-2. However, restriction site polymorphism was observed in 9228 following digestion with Hpa II. Isolate 9228 was similarly compared with all commercially available vaccinal isolates of CAV-2 and was shown to be clearly distinct from these.

Evaluation of three types of cell culture for recovery of adenovirus from clinical specimens

The performance characteristics of HEK, HDF, and MK cells for adenovirus isolation were examined for eye and respiratory tract specimens. HEK cells were superior to HDF and MK cells in terms of both speed of virus detection and sensitivity.

Inclusion body hepatitis in bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus)

Farm-reared bobwhite quails less than 3 weeks of age experienced high mortality (250 of 400). At necropsy, these birds had multiple 1-to-2-mm pale foci throughout their livers. Histologically, these foci varied from acute hepatocellular necrosis without an inflammatory response to necrosis with infiltrates of mononuclear inflammatory cells and some heterophils. Hepatocytes adjacent to affected areas had large basophilic intranuclear inclusions. A group I avian adenovirus was isolated from affected livers.

Identification of ovine adenovirus types five and six in an epizootic of respiratory tract disease in recently weaned lambs

Eight hundred fourteen Polypay-cross lambs, 32 to 35 days old, were housed in an isolation barn under semiconfinement conditions. The lambs were observed twice daily for clinical signs of respiratory tract disease. During the 8-week observation period, an epizootic of respiratory tract disease developed, in which the combined morbidity and mortality was approximately 13%. The overall mortality was 4.1%, of which 57.6% was attributable to pneumonia. Pasteurella haemolytica was isolated from 11 (58%) of the 19 lung specimens obtained at necropsy. Serotyping revealed the presence of multiple serotypes: A1, A2, A5, A6, A9, and A12. Viruses with properties consistent with ovine adenovirus were isolated from 36% of the lung specimens. Five of the isolates were selected to determine their antigenic serotype. Results of virus neutralization testing indicated that in this group of lambs, there was concurrent infection with Mastadenovirus ovi type 5 and type 6.