Molecular epidemiology and brief history of emerging adenovirus 14-associated respiratory disease in the United States.
BACKGROUND
First isolated in the Netherlands in 1955 during an outbreak of acute respiratory disease (ARD) among military recruits, human adenovirus 14 (HAdV-14) has historically been considered rare. With no precedent of circulation in North America, HAdV-14 has been isolated from military and civilian cases of ARD of variable severity since 2003 in the United States.


METHODS
Ninety-nine isolates from military and civilian cases from different geographic locations and circulation periods were characterized by restriction enzyme analysis of viral DNA and select gene sequencing.


RESULTS
All examined viruses were found to be identical and to belong to a new genome type designated "HAdV-14p1" (formerly known as "14a"). Comparative alignments of E1A, hexon, and fiber gene sequences with other subspecies B2 HAdVs suggest that HAdV-14p1, like the closely related HAdV-11a, arose from recombination among similar HAdV-11 and HAdV-14 ancestral strains. A deletion of 2 amino acids in the knob region of the fiber protein is the only identified unique characteristic of HAdV-14p1.


CONCLUSIONS
The current geographic distribution of HAdV-14p1 involves at least 15 states in the Unites States. The role of the fiber mutations in the recent emergence of HAdV-14p1 ARD in North America warrants further study.
Kajon
Adriana E
AE
Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87108, USA. akajon@lrri.org
Lu
Xiaoyan
X
Erdman
Dean D
DD
Louie
Janice
J
Schnurr
David
D
George
Kirsten St
KS
Koopmans
Marion P
MP
Allibhai
Taslim
T
Metzgar
David
D
D000256:Adenoviridae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D000258:Adenovirus Infections, Human / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult