About AMEDD - AMEDD Innovations Since Desert Storm

Adenovirus Vaccine is an orally administered, enteric-coated tablet containing live adenovirus serotypes 4 or 7 and is used almost exclusively by the military.  It will prevent acute respiratory disease (ARD) caused by adenovirus (types 4 and 7) that frequently occurs in Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines living in barrack-type environments during basic training.  Prevention of adenovirus-related ARD will result in decreased recycling of recruits, due to missed training or hospitalization, and considerable cost savings.

The symptoms of ARD are pharyngitis, rhinitis, and pneumonia, and the illness often leads to lost training time.  In the absence of vaccine, about 60 percent of ARD cases are due to adenovirus infection.  Scientists at the National Institutes of Health and WRAIR developed an Adenovirus Vaccine, oral tablets containing live virus types 4 and 7, which were used for more than two decades.  Millions of recruits received the vaccine, and it was shown to be both safe and effective.  Failure to upgrade the production facility led to the termination of vaccine production in the 1996.  A project to restore the vaccine is currently under way.  A new facility has been built to produce types 4 and 7 vaccine in compliance with current FDA standards.  Test and evaluation of the new vaccine was completed at Army and Navy basic training commands.  The Biological License Agreement was approved by the FDA in March 2011.