Prevention & Treatment

Prevention

Prevention of Outbreaks

Adenoviruses are resistant to many common disinfectants and can remain infectious for long periods on environmental surfaces and medical instruments. To prevent healthcare-associated outbreaks of adenovirus infections, such as epidemic keratoconjunctivitis, health care providers should strictly follow infection control practices, including contact and droplet precautions, and promptly respond to and report clusters of cases.

See 2007 Guideline for Isolation Precautions: Preventing Transmission of Infectious Agents in Healthcare Settings for more information. For recommendations on disinfecting adenovirus in the environment see Efficacy of hospital germicides against adenovirus 8, a common cause of epidemic keratoconjunctivitis in health care facilities and Sensitivity of human adenoviruses to different groups of chemical biocides.

Health care providers should follow the guidelines for preventing health-care-associated pneumonia for suspected cases of adenoviral pneumonia.

Vaccination

Currently, there is no adenovirus vaccine available for the general public.

A vaccine against adenovirus types 4 and 7 was given to U.S. military recruits from 1971 to 1999, but the manufacturer stopped producing the vaccine in 1999. A new live, oral vaccine against adenovirus types 4 and 7 was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March 2011 for U.S. military personnel 17 through 50 years old. The vaccine is recommended by the U.S. Department of Defense for military recruits entering basic training in order to prevent acute respiratory disease. For more information about the vaccine, see Adenovirus Vaccine Information Statement (VIS).

Treatment

There is no specific treatment for people with adenovirus infection. Most adenovirus infections are mild and don’t require any medical care; clinical care of adenovirus infections includes supportive management of symptoms and complications. Cidofovir has been used to treat severe adenovirus infections in people with immunocompromised systems in specific situations.

For more information, see

• Clinical Overview
• Diagnosis
• About Adenoviruses: Prevention & Treatment

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