Mutant Form Of Cold Virus Can Kill

Concern Grows Over Bug Blamed In 10 Deaths And At Least 140 Illnesses n 4 States

(CBS/AP)  A mutated version of a common cold virus has caused 10 deaths in the last 18 months, U.S. health officials said Thursday.

Adenoviruses usually cause respiratory infections that aren't considered lethal. But a new variant has caused at least 140 illnesses in New York, Oregon, Washington and Texas, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"It's making people quite a bit sicker than you would normally expect with the common cold," Early Show medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay said Friday. "Researchers ... are tracking it quite closely now."

CDC officials say they don't consider the mutation a cause for alarm for most people, and they're not recommending any new precautions for the general public.

"It's an uncommon infection," said Dr. Larry Anderson, a CDC epidemiologist.

The illness made headlines in Texas earlier this year, when a so-called boot camp flu sickened hundreds at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. The most serious cases were blamed on the emerging virus, and one 19-year-old trainee died.

"What really got people's attention is these are healthy young adults landing in the hospital and, in some cases, the ICU," said Dr. John Su, an infectious diseases investigator with the CDC.

"Anytime you have a virus affecting healthy people in this way, you really do want to track it and pay close attention to it," Senay said.

There are more than 50 distinct types of adenoviruses tied to human illnesses. They are one cause of the common cold, and also trigger pneumonia and bronchitis. Severe illnesses are more likely in people with weaker immune systems.

"Pneumonia that gets out of control appears to be what is causing the deaths," Senay observed.

Some adenoviruses have also been blamed for gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis and cystitis.

There are no good antiviral medications for adenoviruses. Patients usually are treated with aspirin, liquids and bed rest.

Some people who get infected by the new bug probably would not suffer symptoms, and some may just feel a common cold. Sick people should see a doctor if they suffer a high fever or have trouble breathing, Anderson said.

In the CDC report, the earliest case of the mutated virus was found in an infant girl in New York City, who died last year. The child seemed healthy right after birth, but then became dehydrated and lost appetite. She died 12 days after she was born.

Tests found that she been infected with a form of adenovirus, called Ad14, but with some little differences, Su said.

It's not clear how the changes made it more lethal, said Linda Gooding, an Emory University researcher who specializes in adenoviruses.

Earlier this year, hundreds of trainees at Lackland became ill with respiratory infections. Tests showed a variety of adenoviruses in the trainees, but at least 106 - and probably more - had the mutated form of Ad14, including five who ended up in an intensive care unit.

In April, Oregon health officials learned of a cluster of cases at a Portland-area hospital. They ultimately counted 31 cases, including seven who died with severe pneumonia. The next month, Washington state officials reported four hospitalized patients had the same mutated virus. One, who also had AIDS, died.

The Ad14 form of adenovirus was first identified in 1955. In 1969, it was blamed for a rash of illnesses in military recruits stationed in Europe, but it's been detected rarely since then. But it seems to growing more common.

The strain accounted for 6 percent of adenovirus samples collected in 22 medical facilities in 2006, while none was seen the previous two years, according to a study published this month in the medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

The new bug could have implications for the military. Other forms of adenoviruses have been a common cause of illness in recruits. Military officials are bringing back an adenovirus vaccine - administered as a pill - that was given to recruits from 1971 to 1999, CDC officials said.

A Barr Pharmaceuticals vaccine for the military, currently being tested, is expected to be licensed in 2009. Like the old pill, it focuses on adenovirus serotypes 4 and 7, because those bugs have been persistent problems, said Col. Art Brown, an Army physician involved in the product's development.

Some CDC officials said a vaccination against the mutant Ad14 might be needed. Brown said it isn't clear if the mutant Ad14 will be an enduring threat, but the military will monitor illness reports.

"If it persists, then we'd consider if the vaccine needs to be modified further," said Brown, of the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity.

[grammawhamma]

trenticus: You had a viral thing and were given antibiotics (Z-pack). Not a good idea...antibiotics don''t work on a viral thing. You would have gotten better on your own.

[gaye5]

And oh I forgot to mention..
we were told that millions were going to die with the bird flu,, and we hear something similar every year, but from my readings there was only about one hundred to 120 people died from the bird flu world wide..
And does this mean that we now have to be careful of the cat flu, dog flu, horse flu etc in case they mutate, whoops we had better give more money to the pharmaceutical companies to make more protection for us.

How often do we hear people saying that they had the flu injection and were so seriously ill with the flu within a few days sick after it, in fact many older people die every year after the flu immunisation, especially in nursing homes where their immune system isn''t the greatest.. I will never have the flu injection. One wonders if this is the way that they spread it, immunise some, they get the sneezes and low and behold the population have the virus, and we are then told that we were lucky that we made sure that every one had the immunisation, hmmm..

[gaye5]

omega39 I was just going to say the same thing,, bird flu, and all the other scares that they give us each year.. But of course Omega39, it is immunization time you know,, the cold weather is coming up so the push for flu immunisation is on again.. We have to keep the pharmaceutical companies rich...
Hey, there are more die from getting the flu immunisation than die from colds, but they don''t tell us to watch out for the killer immunisations eh..

It is just like measles etc, they used to be called the mild childhood diseases, but now to scare the parents into immunising their children they are now called killer diseases...
I bet the people who have died from this bug, are either old, very young, or their immune system is very low..

[trenticus-2009]

Ihad a viral thing start in my lungs. I am healthy, active and in good physical condition. Second and third day were the WORST! I saw a doctor on the third day and was put on a 3 count Z-pack. Stuill a little congested but have my energy back and feel i am on the road to recovery. Worked 2 1/2 days this week. Watch it if you get sick. You never know. I am not a person who runs to the doctor everytime I get a cough or stuffy nose.

[omega39-2009]

Here we go again, mutant killer colds have arrived to scare the public and keep them off balance while the country is sold off, one piece at a time, right out from under them.