(November 15, 2007)--Federal health officials report Thursday a mutated version of a common cold virus has caused ten deaths in the last 18 months.
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, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
The illness drew attention earlier this year in Texas, 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.
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.
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