Adenovirus tends to increase, doctors warn of unexpected sources of infection

Child infected with Adenovirus but mother thinks it's the flu

Seeing her daughter have a high fever and a lot of cough after the first days returning to kindergarten, Ms. Minh Hang (Hong Ha ward, Hanoi) thought her child only had a common cold, so she bought medicine for treatment herself. Only when the child had a continuous fever, coughed more and difficulty breathing appeared, did the family take her to the hospital.

The test results surprised her: The baby did not have the flu but was infected with Adenovirus - a virus that is tending to increase in children recently.

According to Ms. Hang, in the early days, the child only had a mild fever and cough, so the whole family was quite subjective. Family members bought cold medicine for their child to drink with the hope that the disease would recover quickly. However, the condition did not improve but became more and more severe. After being examined by doctors, done tests and treated in the right direction, the baby's health gradually stabilized.

According to BSCKI Ha To Nhu (An Viet General Hospital), this is not an isolated case. Recently, the hospital has received many children with Adenovirus, but initially they were thought by their families to be flu, sore throat or common ear, nose and throat diseases.

The confusion has caused many parents to arbitrarily use medicine at home, delaying the time when children are diagnosed and treated correctly. When admitted to the hospital, many cases have progressed severely," the doctor said.

Cases triple

At the National Children's Hospital, from the beginning of 2026 to now, the hospital has recorded 2,777 cases positive for Adenovirus, 3 times higher than the same period in 2025. In the first days of July alone, there were 383 more children infected, showing that the number of cases continues to increase.

This is the time when children participate in many summer activities, learn talents, play and swim, so the risk of exposure to infectious sources is higher.

Adenovirus is mainly transmitted through the respiratory tract when the patient coughs, sneezes, or has close contact. The virus can also be transmitted through the digestive tract, through the eye mucosa, personal belongings, infected surfaces, and unsanitary water sources in swimming pools.

In fact, the National Hospital of Pediatrics has just recorded a group of children learning to swim at a public swimming pool, of which up to 4/5 children were cross-infected with Adenovirus. This is a warning about the risk of spreading in crowded environments if hygiene and disinfection are not strictly implemented.

There is no specific medicine, self-treatment is not recommended

According to BSCKI Ha To Nhu, Adenovirus is a common virus that can cause disease all year round but usually increases sharply during the transitional season or summer, when children have a lot of outdoor activities and crowded contact.

Adenovirus is mainly transmitted through the respiratory tract (cough, sneezing, close contact) and through the digestive tract, and can also be transmitted through the mucous membranes when children swim, when exposed to surfaces or unhygienic domestic water sources. The disease easily breaks out in places where children are concentrated, such as schools, extracurricular classes, playgrounds and public swimming pools.

The symptoms of the disease are quite diverse, the most common are high fever, cough, sore throat, conjunctivitis of the eyes (red eyes), which may be accompanied by digestive disorders. Notably, many children, especially older children, have symptoms of continuous high fever, poor response to common fever-reducing drugs. If not monitored and treated properly, some cases may progress severely, leading to pneumonia complications and requiring hospitalization for treatment," BSCKI Ha To Nhu said.

BSKI Ha To Nhu noted that Adenovirus can start like the flu but the diễn biến in each child is very different. Therefore, parents should not be subjective, it is necessary to take children to the doctor early to determine the correct cause and treat them promptly, avoiding dangerous complications.