[Laboratory Diagnosis of Human Adenovirus for Surveillance in Japan in 2014]

This study sought to clarify how laboratory testing of human mastadenovirus (adenovirus) is conducted in local public health institutes (LPHI) as part of Japanese adenovirus surveillance.

Questionnaires on adenovirus surveillance were distributed to LPHIs (n=77) between February and May, 2014.

The participation response rate was 100%. During this period, adenoviral cultures were conducted at 65 institutes (84%) while 49 (64%) used neutralization testing. PCR diagnoses were conducted at 58 institutes (75%). The national adenovirus diagnosis manual (http://www.nih.go.jp/niid/ja/labo-manual.html), which includes methods of viral culture and PCR for penton, hexon, and fiber-coding regions, was used in 68% of the LPHIs. Ocular samples were diagnosed at 36 (47%) LPHIs.

Most LPHIs conduct adenovirus surveillance in accordance with the national diagnosis manual. Both PCR and viral cultures were used for adenovirus surveillance in the majority of LPHIs during the surveyed period.