Adenovirus infection of the cervix

A case is recorded in which intranuclear inclusions suggesting adenovirus infection were recognized in a routine Papanicolaou smear. The patient was recalled for virologic studies and adenovirus type 19 was cultured from the cervix. The patient had a recent history of systemic illness with conjunctivitis, and a friend had conjunctivitis at the same time which was also proven to be due to adenovirus of the same serotype. This is the first reported instance in which adenovirus infection of the cervix suspected on cytologic findings has been confirmed by virus culture.