Identification of A Novel Human Adenovirus Type 114 Associated with An Acute Respiratory Disease Outbreak at An Elementary School - Beijing, China, September 2024.

What is already known about this topic?: Recent years have witnessed increasing reports of acute respiratory outbreaks caused by novel recombinant human adenovirus (HAdV). In November 2023, researchers at the Medical University of Hannover in Germany identified HAdV-B114.

What is added by this report?: The six strains of HAdV isolated in this outbreak were 100% homologous and also had the highest homology with the GenBank reference OR853835 for HAdV-B114 at 99.9%, 100%, and 99.8% in penton base gene hexon gene, and fiber gene. This is the first documented outbreak in China associated with HAdV-B114.

What are the implications for public health practice?: Given that genetically recombined HAdVs can pose serious threats to human health and trigger emerging infectious disease outbreaks, continuous monitoring - particularly of novel recombinant types based onpenton base gene, hexon gene, and fiber gene sequences - should be prioritized to enable early detection and effective public health response.