Reporting of Human Adenoviruses Has Declined Since COVID-19

FRIDAY, Dec. 27, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Reporting of human adenovirus (HAdV) types decreased since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to research published in the Dec. 19 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Fatima Abdirizak, M.P.H., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues summarized the distribution of HAdV types reported to the National Adenovirus Type Reporting System during 2017 to 2023.

The researchers found that 2,241 HAdV specimens with typing results were reported during the seven-year period. During 2017 to 2019, the number of specimens with HAdV typing results reported varied annually (range, 389 to 562) and decreased during 2020 to 2023 (range, 58 to 356). Six HAdV types (1 to 4, 7, and 14) accounted for 88.3 percent of typed specimens reported during 2017 to 2023; overall, 17.0 percent of specimens were outbreak-related. During 2021 to 2022, an increase in type 41 reporting was associated with a hepatitis cluster. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a decrease seen in reporting to the National Adenovirus Type Reporting System, despite continued HAdV circulation reported through passive laboratory surveillance.

“Expanded laboratory capacity to type HAdVs and enhanced reporting could improve national understanding of HAdV circulation patterns and better guide public health prevention strategies,” the authors write.

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