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From 100 cases of gastroenteritis among children caused by adenovirus infection in Ontario, 33 virus isolates were divided into three categories according to their biological behavior in tissue cultures. So far, the results of neutralization tests, structural protein analysis, and DNA restriction patterns showed that the virus of category 1 was similar to adenovirus type 40. However, the adenovirus of category 2 was a distinct adenovirus which shared some similarities with adenovirus type 5. Viruses of category 3 are still under investigation.

Over a 2-year period 67 strains of Bordetella pertussis were identified in 231 single specimens of nasopharyngeal secretions submitted from patients suspected to have whooping cough in the National Capital Region; 89.5% of the identifications were made by culture. Serotype 1,3 was predominant. At least 75% of the patients with bacteriologically confirmed whooping cough had not been fully immunized. There was no evidence that adenoviruses or other viruses played any important etiologic role in the 204 cases of whooping cough or whooping cough syndrome studied virologically.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection was monitored in patients with symptoms of acute respiratory tract infection in a village in southeastern Ontario from April 1983 to April 1984. M. pneumoniae was isolated from 51 (48%) of the 106 patients. The incidence began to increase in May 1983, reached a peak in July and declined to normal by mid-August. During the epidemic period M. pneumoniae was detected in 36 of the 43 symptomatic patients. The most prominent features of the outbreak were the considerable intrafamilial attack rate and the high frequency of pneumonia among infected patients. Treatment with tetracyclines and erythromycin reduced the duration of the illness and accelerated the resolution of symptoms.