In the US, diagnosed with a new virus that is not less dangerous than the flu

The spreading virus is very similar to flu in its symptoms, but it is even worse. Sometimes even doctors can not distinguish the flu from adenovirus, so they prescribe treatment, as with the flu, writes NBC News.

Фото: Depositphotos

The risks are so high that the US military vaccinates recruits against two strains at once.

However, most are not vaccinated against adenovirus.

“We're seeing serious infections in adults,” Adrian Cajon, Ph.D., told NBC News. “It is very important to prevent the spread of the disease with the vaccine. The problem is that it is not licensed for civilian use."

Adenovirus infections often look like a cold or flu. They cause fever, headache, body aches and sometimes, but not always, cough, digestive problems and breathing problems. Some strains cause eye infections. There are 52 different strains.

Kajon and his colleagues collected detailed information about adenoviral infections from 2011 to 2015 in colleges, nursing homes and elsewhere.

“Based on the clinical severity of some of the cases in this study, the (adenovirus) vaccine currently licensed for military use should be considered a potentially valuable resource for disease prevention in susceptible populations living in gated communities such as campuses college, summer camps, and long-term care facilities,” the scientists wrote in a report published this week in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Due to the outbreak of adenovirus in 2007, 10 people died. Kajon's team tested college students on the same campus during a severe flu epidemic in 2014-15. Then they discovered that 13 of 168 students had adenoviral infections.

Although most patients do not suffer much, the virus can cause very serious complications, such as pneumonia, respiratory failure, and swelling of the brain.

Фото: Depositphotos

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention keep a log of registered cases of adenovirus.

“Outbreaks are more common in late winter, spring, and early summer, but can occur throughout the year,” the CDC says.

There were so many disease outbreaks among military recruits that the Department of Defense vaccinates personnel against two more serious strains with oral vaccine. Vaccination was suspended in the 1999 year, but the outbreaks flared up again, so the vaccine was reintroduced in the 2011 year.

Kajon believes that the vaccine should be more accessible.

Adenovirus does not have the same mortality rate as the flu. Influenza kills from 12 000 to 50 000 people per year in the United States only.

According to the observations, adenovirus is very difficult to destroy. He lives on plastic and metal surfaces for a month. Tests have shown that not all solutions with alcohol kill the virus, although chlorine can do it.

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