An outbreak of acute respiratory disease caused by HAdV‐55 in Beijing, China, 2020

Abstract

Human adenoviruses (HAdVs) can cause acute respiratory diseases (ARDs) worldwide, and HAdV-55 is a reemergent pathogen in recent years. In the study, we investigated an outbreak of ARD at a school due to HAdV-55 in Beijing, China, during the early outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 . The epidemic prevention team was dispatched to the school to collect epidemiologic data and nasopharyngeal samples. Then, real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and multiplex PCR assays were used to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and other respiratory pathogens, respectively.One representative HAdV-55 isolate was selected and submitted for whole-genome sequencing using a MiSeq system and the whole-genome phylogenetic tree was conducted based on the maximum likelihood method. The outbreak lasted from January 27 to February 6, 2020, and 108 students developed fever, among whom 60 (55.56%) cases were diagnosed with HAdV-55 infection in the laboratory using realtime PCR and 56 cases were hospitalized. All the confirmed cases had a fever and 11 cases (18.33%) presented with a fever above 39°C. Other main clinical symptoms included sore throat (43.33%) and headache (43.33%). We obtained and assembled the full genome of one isolate, BJ-446, with 34 761 nucleotides in length. HAdV-55 isolate BJ-446 was 99.85% identical to strain QS-DLL, which was the first HAdV-55 strain in China isolated from an ARD outbreak in Shanxi in 2006. One and four amino acid mutations were observed in the hexon gene and the coding region of L2 pV 40.1 kDa protein, respectively. We identified the first HAdV-55 infection associated with the ARD outbreak in Beijing since the emergence of COVID-19. The study suggests that improved surveillance of HAdV is needed, although COVID-19 is still prevalent in the world.

Prevalence and Burden of Human Adenovirus-Associated Acute Respiratory Illness in the Republic of Korea Military, 2013 to 2022

“… 18 In China, such outbreaks have not been limited to military groups but have also been observed among the general population, including schools and sports facilities. 19 20 21 In Korea, the first case of HAdV-55 pneumonia was discovered in 2012, and the results of previous studies have suggested that HAdV-55 is the predominant causative agent of ARD in the Korean military. 4 5 7 22 Also, several studies have shown that HAdV-55 results in a poorer prognosis than other HAdV serotypes.…”

Clinical epidemiology and disease burden of adenoviral encephalitis in hospitalized children in China: A nationwide cross‐sectional study

“…Adenovirus encephalitis is a viral infectious disease that affects the central nervous system, typically afflicting young children under the age of five. Although there have been few reported cases to date, intermittent outbreaks have arisen due to the widespread prevalence of HAdV 21,22 . When contracted, adenovirus encephalitis results in a rapid onset of severe symptoms and may lead to a range of complications in various systems, often necessitating hospitalization for affected children.…”

“…Although there have been few reported cases to date, intermittent outbreaks have arisen due to the widespread prevalence of HAdV. 21 , 22 When contracted, adenovirus encephalitis results in a rapid onset of severe symptoms and may lead to a range of complications in various systems, often necessitating hospitalization for affected children. This study aims to analyze and summarize the FSMRs data from hospitalized children with adenovirus encephalitis in China between 2016 and 2018.…”

Generation and Characterization of a Replication-Competent Human Adenovirus Type 55 Encoding EGFP

“…In mainland China, adenovirus was detected in approximately 5.8–13% of acute respiratory tract illness (ARTI) patients, particularly in children and young adults [ 6 , 7 ]. HAdV-55 was first identified as an atypical HAdV-11 strain in Spain (1969), which then appeared in a Turkish military camp (2004), in Singapore (2005), and in the USA [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Now, hAdV-55 has spread widely and continues to cause outbreaks globally [ 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 ].…”

“…HAdV-55 was first identified as an atypical HAdV-11 strain in Spain (1969), which then appeared in a Turkish military camp (2004), in Singapore (2005), and in the USA [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Now, hAdV-55 has spread widely and continues to cause outbreaks globally [ 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 ]. In China, HAdV-55 and HAdV-7 were identified as the leading group B adenovirus types, which cause outbreaks in military camps and schools with significantly different seasonal patterns and attack rates, based on retrospective surveillance data from 2009 to 2020 [ 14 ].…”