Routes of Transmission Adenoviruses can infect man via the conjunctiva or the nasal mucosa. The relative roles of contact and airborne transmission have not been elucidated. It has been found that adenovirus infections which are followed by persistent faecal excretion spread to a higher proportion of susceptible contacts than do purely respiratory infections. This has been taken to suggest that infection can occur by the faecal-oral route, and this is thought to be significant particularly among children. Asymptomatic infections occur sometimes with long-term shedding of virus from the pharynx or gut.
Many infections occur in children although infections in adults are also common.
There is little cross protection between serotypes. Adenovirus F serotypes cause gastroenteritis in children particularly those under one year old. There is a regular winter rise in incidence but the numbers are not large. There is no specific antiviral chemotherapy against adenoviruses at present. Idoxuridine and ARA-A had been tried in the treatment of keratoconjunctivitis but were unsuccessful.