Rapid presumptive recognition of diarrhea-associated adenoviruses.

The quantity of adenoviruses in a diarrhea stool provided a strong presumptive indication of the presence or absence of an adenovirus from subgenus F or G (proposed species 40 or 41). These adenoviruses were found in the stools of 91% of 56 acutely ill diarrhea patients with one or more than one adenovirus particle per min of direct electron microscopic viewing, as compared with 40% of 20 acutely ill diarrhea patients with less than one detected adenovirus particle per min of viewing.