An outbreak of adenovirus serotype 41 infection in infants and children with acute gastroenteritis in Maizuru City, Japan

A total of 337 fecal specimens were collected from infants and children with acute gastroenteritis in Maizuru City, Japan from July 2004 to June 2005 and tested for the presence of rotavirus, norovirus, sapovirus, astrovirus, and adenovirus by RT-multiplex PCR. Among diarrheal viruses detected, norovirus was the most prevalent (13.6%, 46 of 337), followed by adenovirus (8%, 27 of 337), group A rotavirus (5%, 17 of 337), astrovirus (1.8%, 6 of 337), and sapovirus (1.8%, 6 of 337), respectively. Adenovirus was subjected to molecular genetic analysis by sequencing. Adenovirus detected in this study was classified into five serotypes, namely Ad1, Ad2, Ad3, Ad5, and Ad41. Of these, Ad41 was the most predominant serotype that accounted for 85.2% (23 of 27). It was noteworthy to point out that Ad41 infection was apparently confined only to the period of 4 months (October 2004 through January 2005). This pattern of infection implied the outbreak of Ad41 in these subjects, which was the first outbreak of acute gastroenteritis attributed to adenovirus in Maizuru City, Japan. Another interesting feature of the study was the existence of two Ad41 subtypes co-circulating in this outbreak. This report confirmed the presence of adenovirus as one of an important cause of acute gastroenteritis among Japanese infants and children.