Articles by Amy E Rogers, MD, MPH (LCDR, MC, USN); Xiaoyan Lu, MS; Marie Killerby, VetMB, MPH; Elizabeth Campbell, BS, RN; Linda Gallus, MBA (CDR, MSC, USN); Edwin Kamau, PhD, MS (MAJ, MSC, USA); Irma B. Froh; Gosia Nowak, MSc, MPH; Dean D. Erdman, DrPH; Senthilkumar K. Sakthivel, PhD; Susan I. Gerber, MD; Eileen Schneider, MD, MPH; John T. Watson, MD; Lucas A. Johnson, MD, MTM&H (LCDR, MC, USN)

Outbreak of Acute Respiratory Illness Associated with Adenovirus Type 4 at the U.S. Naval Academy, 2016

Article

2/1/2019

Human adenoviruses (HAdVs) are known to cause respiratory illness outbreaks at basic military training (BMT) sites. HAdV type-4 and -7 vaccines are routinely administered at enlisted BMT sites, but not at military academies. During Aug.–Sept. 2016, U.S. Naval Academy clinical staff noted an increase in students presenting with acute respiratory illness (ARI). An investigation was conducted to determine the extent and cause of the outbreak. During 22 Aug.–11 Sept. 2016, 652 clinic visits for ARI were identified using electronic health records. HAdV-4 was confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction assay in 18 out of 33 patient specimens collected and 1 additional HAdV case was detected from hospital records. Two HAdV-4 positive patients were treated for pneumonia including 1 hospitalized patient. Molecular analysis of 4 HAdV-4 isolates identified genome type 4a1, which is considered vaccine-preventable. Understanding the impact of HAdV in congregate settings other than enlisted BMT sites is necessary to inform discussions regarding future HAdV vaccine strategy.