Field epidemiological investigation and control of a human adenovirus type 55 outbreak in a hospital

Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of an outbreak of human adenovirus type 55 infection in a class Ⅱ (A) hospital in Jiangmen, Guangdong province, in July, 2015, and provide evidence for the control of the epidemic.

Methods The standard questionnaire was used for the field survey. The definition of case was established and the cases′ epidemiology characteristics were described. Throat swabs of the patients were collected and RT-PCR was conducted for pathogen detection. The comprehensive prevention and control were carried out based on the investigation results.

Results A total of 43 cases were detected from 21 June to 8 July in 2016, no severe case or death occurred. Human adenovirus type 55 infection was confirmed by the results of throat swab testing. Infections mainly occurred in the department of neurosurgery (41 cases, 95.35%) and its attack rate was 24.12% (40/170). The spread of the infections was stopped by a series of prevention and control measures.

Conclusion This outbreak was caused by the human adenovirus type 55. The infection was mainly transmitted by respiratory droplets spread and through close contacts. It is suggested to consider human adenovirus infection in clinical diagnosis of respiratory diseases to improve the diagnosis of respiratory infectious diseases.