Adenoviruses are found to be associated with a wide range of diseases in children and adults. There is little data available on the circulating serotypes of Human Adenoviruses (HAdVs) in the southwest region of India. In this study, we explore the molecular epidemiology of HAdVs circulating in southwest India. Twenty-three samples (Adenovirus PCR positive), collected between January 2011 and March 2013, have been typed based on the partial hexon gene sequence and phylogenetic analysis. The commonest serotypes were HAdV-3 and HAdV-2. The other serotypes were HAdV-7, HAdV-1, HAdV-8 and HAdV-40. Respiratory illness was the most common clinical manifestation of HAdV-3, HAdV-2 and HAdV-7 serotypes. HAdV-3, HAdV-7 and HAdV-8 were found to cause conjunctivitis, whereas HAdV-1, HAdV-2 and HAdV-3 caused encephalitis. In conclusion, this study documents the circulating HAdV strains and the epidemiology in southwest India. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on the molecular epidemiology of HAdVs in India.
Keywords: HAdV; Human adenovirus; Hyper variable region; Molecular epidemiology; Phylogenetic 17 analysis; Southwest India.