Adenoviruses

Last weekend, laboratory tests in China ruled out SARS; the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS; the flu; bird flu; adenoviruses; and other common pathogens that cause pneumonia.

Adenoviruses are part of a group of viruses that can infect the membranes or tissue lining of the respiratory tract, eyes, intestines, urinary tract and nervous system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And adenoviruses are still difficult to diagnose since they’re not typically included in a panel of tests used to identify specific viruses, according to Schaffner.

Much research has focused on the use of adenoviruses that cannot reproduce, or reproduce only to a limited extent, within the patient to ensure safety via the avoidance of cytolytic destruction of noncancerous cells infected with the vector.

The most common cause of viral conjunctivitis is adenoviruses (see: Adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis ).