Adenoviruses, being the common cause of common cold are the viruses which affect many systems and result in various disease presentations in the human and are common in the worldwide. The aim of this study was to detect nasopharyngeal adenoviruses and perform subtype identification of virus isolates in primary school-age children. Throat swab samples were collected from the primary school-age children with the symptoms of respiratory tract infection without an epidemic. Polymerase chain reaction with common adenovirus primers was used to detect adenoviruses. Subgroup identification using conventional polymerase chain reaction with group specific primers was made in samples detected positive for adenovirus by polymerase chain reaction. Afterwards whether the products of polymerase chain reaction were specific or not was confirmed by using MspI restriction enzyme. Of five hundred specimens, 11 (2.2%) were positive for adenovirus. All these 11 specimens were positive with subgroup E (serotype 4) specific primers and negative with subgroup B and C specific primers. Subgroup specific polymerase chain reaction products were positive for subgroup E. Infections caused by adenoviruses are usually seen in the early years of life, and limited number of studies in our country have been performed on pre-school children and students. In this study, all the adenovirus strains were identified as subgroup E (serotype 4). However, data on viral respiratory infections in primary school-age children in Turkey are still unknown, and further studies in larger populations are needed on this subject.
Keywords: Adenovirus, primary school-age children, polymerase chain reaction, upper respiratory tract
