Association of adenovirus type 16 with Reye's-syndrome-like illness and pneumonia.

Thirty-eight antigenically distinct viruses have been described as adenoviruses, though only about one third have been commonly associated with human illnesses. In mid-January 1981, adenovirus 16, one of the more rarely encountered ones, was isolated from three patients in separate hospitals in the Little Rock, Arkansas, area, even though it had not previously been isolated there. We report the details of these cases, which included a Reye's-syndrome-like illness and fatal viral pneumonia. The reports indicate a new and more important clinical role for adenovirus 16 infection.