Diverse genotypes of human enteric and non-enteric adenoviruses circulating in children hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis in Thailand, from 2018 to 2021

Human adenovirus (HAdV) is a common viral pathogen that causes diarrhea in children worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and genotype diversity of HAdV strains circulating in children admitted to the hospitals with acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from 2018 to 2021. A total of 1,790 stool samples were screened for HAdV by PCR method, and 80 (4.5%) were positive for HAdV. Of these, children under 5 years of age accounted for 90.0% of HAdV-positive cases with the highest infection rate at the age group of 48–60 months old. The infection rate was not significantly different between boys and girls. The HAdV infection was detected sporadically throughout the year without a discrete seasonal pattern. Five species of both enteric and non-enteric HAdVs (A, B, C, E, and F) with 10 different genotypes, including HAdV-F41 (25.0%), HAdV-B3 (17.5%), HAdV-F40 (16.3%), HAdV-C1 (15.0%), HAdV-C5 (7.5%), HAdV-C2 (6.3%), HAdV-B7 (5.0%), HAdV-A12 (3.8%), HAdV-E4 (2.5%), and HAdV-B11 (1.3%), were detected in this study. In conclusion, our study reported the prevalence and seasonality of HAdV infection with a wide variety of HAdV genotypes circulating in children hospitalized with AGE during a period of 2018–2021 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. IMPORTANCE: In the present study, the prevalence of human adenovirus (HAdV) infection in children with acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from 2018 to 2021 was detected at 4.5%. Diverse species and genotypes of HAdVs (HAdV-A12, HAdV-B3, HAdV-B7, HAdV-B11, HAdV-C1, HAdV-C2, HAdV-C5, HAdV-E4, HAdV-F40, and HAdV-F41) had been identified. The highest infection rate was found in children aged 48–60 months old. The HAdV infection was detected sporadically throughout the year. These findings imply that a wide variety of HAdV genotypes circulate in pediatric patients with AGE in Chiang Mai, Thailand.