Adenovirus infection may result in symptoms of myocarditis, dilated cardiomyopathy, and pericarditis. Other signs and symptoms depend on other complications such as dark urine, itching and jaundice in hepatitis, generally in people who have a weakened immune system. Adenovirus is a rare cause of urethritis in men, when it may present with burning on passing urine associated with red eyes and feeling unwell. Cause and mechanism
Adenovirus infection in humans are generally caused by Adenoviruses types B, C, E and F.Although epidemiologic characteristics of the adenoviruses vary by type, all are transmitted by direct contact, fecal-oral transmission, and occasionally waterborne transmission. Some types are capable of establishing persistent asymptomatic infections in tonsils, adenoids, and intestines of infected hosts, and shedding can occur for months or years. Some adenoviruses (e.g., serotypes 1, 2, 5, and 6) have been shown to be endemic in parts of the world where they have been studied, and infection is usually acquired during childhood. Other types cause sporadic infection and occasional outbreaks; for example, epidemic keratoconjunctivitis is associated with adenovirus serotypes 8, 19, and 37. Epidemics of febrile disease with conjunctivitis are associated with waterborne transmission of some adenovirus types, often centering on inadequately chlorinated swimming pools and small lakes. ARD is most often associated with adenovirus types 4 and 7 in the United States. Enteric adenoviruses 40 and 41 cause gastroenteritis, usually in children.
Most are mild and by the age of 10-years, most children have had at least one adenovirus infection.Adenoviruses are the most common viruses causing an inflamed throat. 75% of conjunctivitis cases are due to adenovirus infection. Under two-year olds are particularly susceptible to adenovirus gastroenteritis by types 40 and 41, with type 41 being more common than type 40. Some large studies have revealed type 40/41 adenovirus as one of the second most common causes of diarrhoea in children in low and middle income countries; the most common being rotavirus. In 2016, the Global Burden of Disease Study estimated that globally, around 75 million episodes of diarrhea among children under the age of five-years, were attributable to adenovirus infection, with a mortality of near 12%.Research in adenovirus infection has generally been limited relative to other respiratory disease viruses. The impact of type-40/41 adenovirus diarrhoea  is possibly underestimated. History
The first adenoviral strains were isolated from adenoids in 1953 by Rowe et al. Later, during studies on rotavirus diarrhoea, the wider use of electron microscopy resulted in detecting previously unrecognized adenoviruses types 40 and 41, subsequently found to be important in causing gastrointestinal illness in children.The illness made headlines in Texas in September 2007, when a so-called "boot camp flu" sickened hundreds at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. In 2018, outbreaks occurred in an adult nursing home in New Jersey, and a college campus in Maryland.