Investigation of an outbreak of adenovirus type 3 infection in a boys' boarding school

Abstract

SummaryAn outbreak of pharyngoconjunctival fever caused by adenovirus type 3 was studied in a boarding school for 800 boys aged 11–18 years. A total of 96 clinical cases were confirmed by laboratory tests. Clinical infection rates were higher in the younger boys but total infection rates did not vary with age. Previous infection provided 88% protection against reinfection.The techniques of virus isolation, complement fixation and neutralization were compared in the diagnosis of cases. Virus isolation diagnosed 86% of confirmed cases. Where acute sera (collected at onset) and convalescent sera (collected within one month) were available complement fixation and neutralization tests each diagnosed 96% of cases.