article · Epidemiology and Infection
This study compared the virology and epidemiology of epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC), pharyngoconjunctival fever (PCF), and acute haemorrhagic conjunctivitis (AHC) outbreaks caused by human adenovirus (HAdV) globally between 1953 and 2013. Researchers analysed 83 hexon sequences from 76 outbreaks to subtype the viruses and examined their geographical, age, and seasonal distribution. Phylogenetic analysis showed three distinct subgenetic lineages without a common ancestor. The main causes were identified as Ad8 for EKC, Ad7 for PCF, and Ad2 co-infected with enterovirus 70 for AHC. EKC and AHC primarily circulated in Asia during early winter and spring, while PCF was mainly found in China, Australia, and the United States during summer.
Understanding the specific viruses and their global circulation patterns helps public health organisations predict and respond to outbreaks of adenovirus-associated eye infections. This knowledge is crucial for developing targeted prevention strategies and improving global health security against these common and sometimes severe conditions.
The abstract suggests the need for a global surveillance system to monitor conjunctivitis outbreaks. This indicates a potential for developing or enhancing technologies and platforms for real-time pathogen tracking and epidemiological data analysis. Such systems would be valuable to public health agencies and international health organisations, representing an applied research area focused on public health infrastructure.
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This study aimed to compare the virology and epidemiology of epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC), pharyngoconjunctival fever (PCF) and acute haemorrhagic conjunctivitis (AHC) outbreaks worldwide caused by the human adenovirus (HAdV) from 1953 to 2013. Eighty-three hexon sequences from 76 conjunctivitis outbreaks were analysed and subtyped using Mega 5.05, Clustal X and SimPlot software. Epidemiology was performed for the area, age and seasonal distribution. A phylogenetic analysis indicated that all the isolates could be divided into three subgenetic lineages, without a common ancestor. The major causes of the outbreaks were Ad8, Ad7 and Ad2 co-infection with enterovirus 70 (EV70) in EKC, PCF and AHC, respectively. The epidemiological findings suggested that EKC and AHC were circulating predominantly in Asia during the early winter and spring, whereas PCF was circulating mainly in China, Australia and the United States during the summer. This study suggests that EKC, AHC and PCF outbreaks have different circulating patterns throughout the world and are caused by different adenovirus serotypes. A global surveillance system should be established to monitor conjunctivitis outbreaks in the future.
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DOI: 10.1017/s0950268815003246
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