Search

Rapid viral diagnosis was attempted in 106 military conscripts with pneumonia and in 101 military conscripts with other types of respiratory infections. Nasopharyngeal suction specimens (NPS) were assayed for viral antigens by immunofluorescence and enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Sputum specimens from 97 pneumonia patients were assayed for viral antigens by EIA. Also, 71 NPS and 13 sputum specimens were examined for the presence of adenovirus DNA by a sandwich hybridization (HYB) method. The reference test was adenovirus isolation in cell culture from the NPS. Adenoviruses were isolated from 6 pneumonia patients and from 20 patients with other respiratory infections. Of these 26 NPS, rapid diagnosis was successful in 13, 16, and 14 cases by EIA, immunofluorescence, and HYB, respectively. Four antigen-positive specimens were found among the 181 specimens which were negative by virus isolation. Sputum was found to contain adenovirus antigen by EIA in 5 of 97 tested specimens. Of these 97 specimens, 13 were selectively tested in HYB, and a positive signal was observed in 4 cases. Serological testing of paired sera revealed 23 adenovirus infections in the pneumonia group and 42 in the group with other respiratory infections. Other viral infections were found only sporadically. All rapid virus detection methods showed excellent specificity but had a lower sensitivity (60%) than virus isolation. Our results show that rapid methods for diagnosing respiratory adenovirus infections can be successfully used in selected groups of adults.

Complement fixation and enzyme immunoassay (EIA) were used for measuring viral antibodies in 103 military conscripts with pneumonia and 98 conscripts with other respiratory infections. Diagnostic rises in antibody to adenovirus were found in 23 (22%) patients with pneumonia and in 42 (43%) patients with other respiratory infections. EIA detected more diagnostic rises than did complement fixation (22 versus 17 for pneumonia and 42 versus 40 in other infections). Adenovirus antibodies were analyzed for different immunoglobulin classes by EIA. Diagnostic rises in immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgA isotypes were observed in 89 and 77% of the cases, respectively. IgM antibodies were positive in 39% of the cases. In five cases (8%), the demonstration of adenovirus antibodies of the IgM class was the only serological evidence for adenovirus infection. The present study demonstrates that the immunoglobulin class-specific EIA is a sensitive method for the diagnosis of respiratory adenovirus infections.