Background: Adenoviruses are the second cause of acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) of viral origin in small children from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize, by restriction enzyme analysis, 17 adenovirus strains isolated from the nasopharyngeal aspirates of children under 2 years of age hospitalized due to ALRI.
Study design: Seventeen adenovirus strains isolated between May 1991 and December 1992 in one hospital of Buenos Aires were studied. Adenoviruses were amplified in HEp-2 cells and viral DNA was studied with the restriction enzymes Bam HI and Sma I.
Results and conclusions: Eighty two percent (14/17) of the isolates were classified as adenoviruses from subgenus b and 17.7% (3/17) belonged to subgenus c. Genome type 7 h was detected in 85.7% (12/14) and 7 i in 14.3% (2/14) of the strains from subgenus b. The case lethality associated with adenovirus genome type 7 was 28.6% (4/14 cases). Three fatal cases corresponded to Ad 7 h and one to Ad 7i. Ad 7h shows a high prevalence in small children hospitalized with ALRI and is associated with a high fatality rate.