Severe adenovirus type 7 infection in children: Case series from a paediatric intensive care unit in South India.

Human adenovirus type 7 (HAdV-7) can cause severe, multisystem disease in children. Between November 2019 and February 2020, 28 children with confirmed HAdV-7 infection were admitted to our paediatric intensive care unit in South India. Most were under 5 years, and 86% required mechanical ventilation. Multisystem involvement included myocarditis (61%), CNS disease (32%), and haemophagocytosis (32%), with a high mortality rate (57%). Follow-up showed recurrent wheeze (33%) and bronchiectasis (16%) in survivors. This case series highlights the clinical characteristics, management strategies and outcome of a large HAdV-7 outbreak in a paediatric intensive care unit. Surveillance is essential to detect and prevent future adenovirus outbreaks in vulnerable paediatric populations.