Adenovirus eye infections in an Australian city, 1972–9

Abstract

SUMMARYA number of adenovirus serotypes have been associated with both sporadic cases and outbreaks of conjunctivitis and pharyngoconjunctival fever but only adenovirus type 8 and adenovirus type 19 have been responsible for wide-spread epidemic kerato-conjunctivitis. In Melbourne, Australia, in the past eight years these two serotypes have been prevalent, resulting in an outbreak of adenovirus type 8 kerato-conjunctivitis in 1976–7 followed by adenovirus type 19 keratoconjunctivitis in 1978–9. During these two periods of peak incidence, 53 cases of adenovirus type 8 and 43 cases of adenovirus type 19 kerato-conjunctivitis were confirmed by isolation.