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.
Eyes
Adenovirus eye infection may present as a pinky-red eye. Six to nine-days following exposure to adenovirus, one or both eyes, typically in children, may be affected in association with fever, pharyngitis and lymphadenopathy (pharyngoconjunctival fever (PCF)). The onset is usually sudden, and there is often rhinitis. Adenovirus infection can also cause adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis. Typically one eye is affected after an incubation period of up to a week. The eye becomes itchy, painful, burning and reddish and lymphadenopathy may be felt by the ear nearest the affected eye. The symptoms may last around 10-days to three-weeks. It may be is associated with blurred vision, photophobia and swelling of the conjunctiva. A sore throat and nasal congestion may or may not be present. This tends to occur in epidemics, affecting predominantly adults. In very young children, it may be associated with high fever, sore throat, otitis media, diarrhoea, and vomiting. Gastrointestinal tract
Adenovirus infection can cause a gastroenteritis when it may present with diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain, with or without respiratory or general symptoms. Children under the age of one-year appear particularly vulnerable. However, it usually resolves within three-days. It appears similar to diarrhoea diseases caused by other infections. Other organs
Uncommonly the bladder may be affected, presenting with a sudden onset of burning on passing urine and increased frequency of passing urine, followed by seeing blood in the urine a day or two later. Meningism may occur in adenovirus associated meningoencephalitis, which may occur in people with weakened immune systems such as with AIDS or lymphoma.