Adenovirus type 7b in a children's hospital

Between August 15 and September 15, 1980, an outbreak of infections due to adenovirus type 7b occurred at Children's Hospital and Health Center, San Diego, California. During that time, four of six patients infected with adenovirus type 7b died. All patients with hospital-acquired disease had underlying respiratory compromise. Cultures, adenoviral serology tests, and histories were obtained from 383 (93%) of the 410 hospital employees. All 11 people from whom adenovirus type 7 was cultured were nurses working in a unit with an infected patient. Seven other employees with negative cultures had a fourfold or greater rise in their adenoviral complement fixation titers. This outbreak demonstrates that adenovirus type 7 infections are capable of causing serious and potentially fatal disease in hospitalized patients and suggests that individuals with underlying respiratory diseases are especially at risk.