Adenovirus type 7h respiratory infections: a report of 29 cases of acute lower respiratory disease

Twenty-nine cases of pediatric acute lower respiratory disease associated with adenovirus genome type 7h were evaluated retrospectively. They constituted 2.4% of 1233 cases of acute respiratory infections treated in five hospitals in Buenos Aires, between September 1984 and September 1988. Pneumonia and bronchiolitis were the principal diagnoses. The mean age of patients was 8.8 months and 82.7% of the children were less than one year of age. None of the patients had previously been exposed to measles or was immunocompromised. A mixed infection, viral or bacterial, was demonstrated in 8 of the 29 patients. Sixteen children developed a severe pulmonary disease which required intensive care. Ten with a clinical diagnosis of multifocal pneumonia and necrotizing bronchiolitis died. Extrapulmonary manifestations were observed in the most severe cases. Observations suggest a possible high pathogenicity of adenovirus type 7h and emphasize the need for adequate control and case management programs.