Volume 30, Number 2—February 2024
Dispatch
Identification of Large Adenovirus Infection Outbreak at University by Multipathogen Testing, South Carolina, USA, 2022
, Judith Chontos-Komorowski, Jason Stacy, Daryl M. Lamson, Kirsten St. George, Avril T. Lail, Heather A. Stewart-Grant, Linda J. Bell, Hannah L. Kirking, and Christopher H. Hsu
Table 1
Characteristics of university students in study identifying a large adenovirus infection outbreak by multipathogen testing, South Carolina, USA, 2022*
| Characteristics |
Adenovirus infections |
|---|---|
| Total no. infected students |
195 |
| Sex | |
| M | 97 (50) |
| F | 98 (50) |
| Median age, y (range) |
19 (18–24) |
| Academic class | |
| Freshman | 76 (39) |
| Sophomore | 58 (30) |
| Junior | 33 (17) |
| Senior | 25 (13) |
| Graduate student |
3 (1) |
| Residence | |
| On-campus dormitory | 115 (59) |
| On-campus apartment | 6 (3) |
| Off campus | 68 (35) |
| Unknown |
6 (3) |
| Area of academic study | |
| Prebusiness or business | 41 (21) |
| Finance | 17 (9) |
| Biology | 17 (9) |
| Psychology | 13 (7) |
| Public health | 9 (5) |
| Sports/entertainment management | 8 (4) |
| Undeclared | 8 (4) |
| Political science | 7 (4) |
| All others |
75 (38) |
| Symptoms† | |
| Cough | 149 (76) |
| Sore throat | 166 (85) |
| Fever | 146 (75) |
| Headache | 120 (62) |
| GI | 52 (27) |
| Conjunctivitis |
20 (10) |
| Smoking or vaping |
30 (15) |
| Comorbidities | |
| Asthma | 14 (7) |
| Immunocompromised‡ | 2 (1) |
| Other or not reported |
179 (92) |
| Co-detected respiratory viruses§ | |
| Human rhinovirus/enterovirus | 28 (14) |
| Seasonal coronavirus¶ | 9 (5) |
| SARS-CoV-2 | 8 (4) |
| Parainfluenza, types 2–4 | 6 (3) |
| Influenza A | 1 (1) |
| RSV | 1 (1) |
| Human metapneumovirus |
1 (1) |
| Adenovirus typing by hexon gene sequencing | |
| Human adenovirus type 4 | 30 (15) |
| Not typed# | 165 (85) |
*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. †Students could report multiple symptoms. ‡Immunocompromised because of methotrexate or immunomodulatory agent treatment. §Other respiratory viruses were detected by using multipathogen PCR. A total of 43 students tested positive for human adenovirus (HAdV) and >1 other respiratory pathogen. Ten of 43 students tested positive for HAdV and >2 other pathogens; 5 of those students had HAdV, SARS-CoV-2, and human rhinovirus/enterovirus. One student tested positive for HAdV, SARS-COV-2, parainfluenza 2, and human rhinovirus/enterovirus. Additional testing, including typing or genomic sequencing, was not performed on specimens that were negative for HAdV. ¶Seasonal coronavirus types were OC43, 229E, NL63, and HKU1. #Typing not attempted or not possible.