Antigenic characterization of intermediate adenovirus 14-11 strains associated with upper respiratory illness in a military camp.

An unusual variant of adenovirus (AV) 11 was isolated from throat and rectal swabs from six persons with upper respiratory illness in a Spanish military camp in March 1969. The same strain was serologically related to the upper respiratory illness of seven other men among 25 sample cases studied in detail. After strain purification, the virus was grouped as an AV by standard biological tests; it possessed the usual titers of group-specific hexon antigen but only low hemagglutinin titers (1:4 to 1:8) with erythrocytes from selected rhesus monkeys. The virus gave little reaction in hemagglutination inhibition (HI) tests with antisera to AV 1 through 35, but was neutralized to homologous titers by AV 11 antiserum. Reciprocally, rabbit and guinea pig antisera to the isolates possessed high HI antibody titers to prototype AV 14 and high serum neutralization (SN) antibody titers to prototype AV 11. On this basis, the variants were classified as AV 14-11 intermediates. Sequential serum specimens from the patients with and without positive cultures showed diagnostic rises in HI and SN antibody levels to the AV 14-11 intermediate and to prototype AV 11, but little response to AV 14.