Fatal Adenovirus 14 On Prince of Wales Island Alaska
Recombinomics Commentary 13:37
October 7, 2008

Indications are that the virus is responsible for causing pneumonia in at least 32 people on the island and sickening an untold number of others who did not go to a clinic seeking medical treatment, she said.

Seven of the 32 cases were severe enough to warrant medevacs to hospitals in surrounding communities, including one patient who was taken to Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage to be put on a ventilator. One woman died, she said.

After a physician reported Sept. 22 that an unusual number of people were falling ill, the division sent a team to the island to pore over medical records, Funk said. Scientists at the state virology laboratory in Fairbanks and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta collected specimens and conducted tests to determine the cause of the outbreak, Funk said. The CDC identified adenovirus in six of 13 samples sent to it.

The above comments indicate the respiratory illness on Prince of Wales Island is due to an outbreak of Adenovirus 14 (Ad14).  This virus has caused recent fatal outbreaks and has been a cause for concern. 

On Prince of Wales Island, the number of pneumonia cases is cause for concern, as is an unconfirmed report of cases in Wrangell, located  on  another island which is northeast of Prince of Wales.

More information on these cases would be useful.

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