Respiratory Viruses Slide
SetTreatment and Prevention of Adenoviruses Infection
E. Treatment and Prevention
There is no specific antiviral chemotherapy against adenoviruses at present. Idoxuridine and ARA-A had been tried in the treatment of keratoconjunctivitis but were unsuccessful. Antivirals have not been tried for the adenovirus-induced respiratory syndromes. When these diseases occur, they are difficult to distinguish from similar diseases caused by a variety of RNA viruses. Swimming pool-associated conjunctivitis can be prevented with adequate levels of chlorine in the water.
Effective vaccines are available for use in the military against adult respiratory distress syndrome. These vaccines are not currently licensed for administration to civilians. Non- attenuated live Adenovirus types 4, 7, and occasionally 21 are packaged into enteric capsules so that they bypass the respiratory epithelium and only replicate once they reach the intestine, resulting in an asymptomatic infection of the intestine. These strains were cultivated in human embryo fibroblasts. Earlier adenovirus vaccines were grown in primary monkey cells that have been demonstrated to contain SV40 virus. SV40 virus genome can integrate into the E3 region of adenovirus, indeed a recombinant adenovirus was isolated which contained the tumourigenic T antigen of SV40. As a result, this approach to producing a vaccine was abandoned. At least 15 million doses of adenovirus vaccine had been given and the vaccine had been shown to be both safe and effective. Adenovirus-associated pneumonia has ceased to be a major problem in the US army. The vaccine has not been licensed for use in children because of worries over the lack of attenuation and the potential oncogenic potential of these vaccines.