Abstract
Adenoviruses are DNA viruses that naturally infect many vertebrates, including humans and monkeys, and cause a wide range of clinical illnesses in humans. Infection from individual strains has conventionally been thought to be species-specific. Here we applied the Virochip, a pan-viral microarray, to identify a novel adenovirus (TMAdV, titi monkey adenovirus) as the cause of a deadly outbreak in a closed colony of New World monkeys (titi monkeys; Callicebus cupreus) at the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC). Among 65 titi monkeys housed in a building, 23 (34%) developed upper respiratory symptoms that progressed to fulminant pneumonia and hepatitis, and 19 of 23 monkeys, or 83% of those infected, died or were humanely euthanized. Whole-genome sequencing of TMAdV revealed that this adenovirus is a new species and highly divergent, sharing <57% pairwise nucleotide identity with other adenoviruses. Cultivation of TMAdV was successful in a human A549 lung adenocarcinoma cell line, but not in primary or established monkey kidney cells. At the onset of the outbreak, the researcher in closest contact with the monkeys developed an acute respiratory illness, with symptoms persisting for 4 weeks, and had a convalescent serum sample seropositive for TMAdV. A clinically ill family member, despite having no contact with the CNPRC, also tested positive, and screening of a set of 81 random adult blood donors from the Western United States detected TMAdV-specific neutralizing antibodies in 2 individuals (2/81, or 2.5%). These findings raise the possibility of zoonotic infection by TMAdV and human-to-human transmission of the virus in the population. Given the unusually high case fatality rate from the outbreak (83%), it is unlikely that titi monkeys are the native host species for TMAdV, and the natural reservoir of the virus is still unknown. The discovery of TMAdV, a novel adenovirus with the capacity to infect both monkeys and humans, suggests that adenoviruses should be monitored closely as potential causes of cross-species outbreaks.
Highlights
Adenoviruses, first isolated in the 1950s from explanted adenoid tissue, are double-stranded nonenveloped DNA viruses that naturally infect many vertebrates, including humans and nonhuman primates
Infection from adenoviruses, viruses that cause a variety of illnesses in humans, monkeys, and other animals, has conventionally been thought to be species-specific
We used the Virochip, a microarray designed to detect all viruses, to identify a new species of adenovirus (TMAdV, or titi monkey adenovirus) that caused a deadly outbreak in a colony of New World titi monkeys at the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC), and infected a human researcher
Summary
Adenoviruses, first isolated in the 1950s from explanted adenoid tissue, are double-stranded nonenveloped DNA viruses that naturally infect many vertebrates, including humans and nonhuman primates. Adenoviruses are the cause of an estimated 5–10% of febrile illnesses in children worldwide [3]. Some serotypes, such as human adenovirus type 14 (HAdV-14), have been associated with severe and potentially fatal outbreaks of pneumonia in residential facilities and military bases [4]. Adenoviruses have been associated with other clinical syndromes including conjunctivitis, hepatitis, and diarrhea [5]. Most epidemiologic studies of adenoviruses have focused on their identification in fecal samples from asymptomatic animals [6,7,8]. Adenoviruses are significant pathogens, genetically modified strains are being actively explored as potential vectors for vaccines and gene therapy [10]
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