01
Transmission
Spread can occur through respiratory droplets, close contact, contaminated hands or surfaces, and fecal contamination. Some types can also spread through inadequately disinfected water, including swimming pools.
Detailed lesson · DNA Virus
Adenovirus
Human adenovirus
A non-enveloped virus that can cause respiratory and gastrointestinal illness.
FamilyAdenoviridaeGenomeLinear double-stranded DNA
01
Adenoviruses can remain infectious on surfaces because they lack a fragile lipid envelope.
02
Different types favor different tissues and produce different patterns of disease.
03
Some adenoviruses are used as engineered vectors in vaccines and gene therapy.
01 · Specimen
Explore the virion
Rotate the specimen, inspect its form, and shift into X-Ray mode.
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02 · Context
Overview
Human adenoviruses are a diverse group of viruses that commonly infect the respiratory tract, eyes, intestines, and urinary tract. Most infections are mild, but severe disease can occur in infants and people with weakened immune systems.
03 · Taxonomy
Classification
Adenoviruses belong to the family Adenoviridae. More than 100 human adenovirus types have been recognized, grouped into species according to genetic and biological characteristics.
- Family
- Adenoviridae
- Genome
- Linear double-stranded DNA
- Host
- Humans
- Size
- 70–90 nm in diameter
- Discovery
- First isolated from human adenoid tissue in 1953
- Transmission
- Respiratory droplets, direct contact, contaminated surfaces, and fecal–oral spread
04 · Anatomy
Structure
The physical architecture and genetic material of the pathogen.
Adenovirus is non-enveloped and has an icosahedral protein shell. Fiber proteins project from the 12 vertices of the capsid and help the virus attach to receptors on a host cell.
05 · Health
Disease information
Clinical presentation, risk reduction, and approaches to care.
02
Symptoms
Symptoms depend on the virus type and infection site. They may include fever, sore throat, cough, runny nose, conjunctivitis, diarrhea, vomiting, or—in uncommon cases—pneumonia or inflammation of the bladder.
03
Prevention
Handwashing, respiratory hygiene, careful surface disinfection, and avoiding shared towels or utensils reduce spread. A vaccine against types 4 and 7 is used by the United States military but is not routinely available to the public.
04
Treatment
Most infections resolve with rest, fluids, and symptom relief. There is no routinely approved adenovirus-specific treatment for the general population; severe infections require medical care and may need specialist-directed antiviral therapy.
06 · History
Timeline
Defining moments in research, discovery, and public health.
Researchers isolate adenoviruses from surgically removed human adenoid tissue.
Similar viruses are connected with outbreaks of acute respiratory illness.
The name *adenovirus* is formally adopted for the group.
07 · Curiosities
Interesting facts
The name comes from the adenoids, the tissue in which the viruses were first isolated.
The long capsid fibers act like molecular landing gear during attachment to a cell.
Infection can produce highly organized, crystal-like arrays of virus particles inside a cell nucleus.
08 · Further reading
References
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