Outbreak of adenovirus type 30 in a neonatal intensive care unit

Objectives To describe an outbreak of adenovirus, type 30, in a neonatal intensive care unit(NICU). Study design This was a retrospective, observational study. Results An outbreak of adenovirus occurred in an NICU. It lasted 6 months and involved 21 of 333 (6.3%) infants. The introduction of infection control measures controlled the outbreak; however, premature discontinuation of the measures resulted in a second wave of cases. The virus caused pneumonia in 7 infants, conjunctions in 7 infants, pneumonia and conjunctivitis in 1 infant,and tipper respiratory tract illness in I infant. Infection was asymptomatic 5 infants. Six infants died. Death wits associated with the presence of pneumonia (P = .0001), administration of steroids (P = .003), and mechanical ventilation (P = .02). Investigation into the origin of the outbreak suggested that the virus may have been introduced and spread during ophthalmologic procedures. Conclusions Adenovirus type 30 can cause severe disease among premature infants in an NICE Infants with severe bronchopulmonary, dysplasia requiring mechanical ventilation are more likely to have development of adenovirus pneumonia, and die. Standard infection control measures are effective in controlling in outbreak. Ophthalmologic procedures continue to be it potential source of adenovirus outbreaks.