Abstract
Human adenoviruses (HAdVs) are common cause of nonbacterial acute gastroenteritis worldwide. Limited data exist on HAdVs molecular epidemiology associated with acute gastroenteritis in Bangladesh. We describe the genetic diversity and epidemiology of HAdVs among hospitalized diarrhea patients, including HAdV genotypes, clinical symptoms, and co‐infecting enteric pathogens. Stool samples were collected from ongoing diarrhea surveillance during 2012‐2015. HAdV was detected using PCR and genotyped by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Detailed socio‐demographic and clinical information regarding each individual was recorded such as duration of diarrhea, dehydration status, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever, and severity. Of 871 fecal specimens, HAdV DNA was detected in 93 (10.7%). Among them 56% were co‐infected with other known enteric viral and bacterial pathogens and 31.6% had severe gastroenteritis. The majority (55%) of HAdV positives were children <5 years of age. Two main clinical symptoms in HAdV infected patients were diarrhea and vomiting. HAdVs were detected throughout the year with low prevalence in winter (November‐January). Five HAdV species (A, B, C, D, and F) including 17 different genotypes were identified during the study period, with enteric HAdV species F (HAdV‐40/41) being the most dominant. However, non‐enteric HAdV were also detected in substantial proportion of specimens (15% species C, 15% species D, 10.8% species A, and 4.3% species B). Our study demonstrates high genetic diversity of HAdVs including enteric and non‐enteric HAdVs among diarrhea patients and provides a foundation for further clarification of the role of non‐enteric HAdVs in diarrheal diseases.