Rapid detection of enteric adenoviruses by means of the polymerase chain reaction.

A simple polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for detecting enteric adenoviruses (Ads 40 and 41) in faecal extracts is described. A pair of PCR primers designed to hybridise to the EIB genes of Ad40 and 41 was found to amplify only Ad40 and 41 DNA but not EIB genes or viral DNA from representative numbers of the other human adenovirus subgenera. The PCR assay was tested on a panel of 10 faecal extracts, all of which contained adenovirus particles (as judged by electron microscopy) but only four of which proved amenable to serotyping. Extracts in which enteric adenoviruses had been detected serologically yielded positive results in the PCR assay. These results suggest that this PCR assay may be useful for detecting enteric adenoviruses in clinical samples.