[Virological diagnosis of epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (author's transl)].

Among 180 patients with proved adenovirus infection of the eye, 144 infections with adenovirus 8 (Ad 8) were found. 11 or 7 patients were infected with Ad 19 or Ad 4 respectively; further 18 cases were associated with 6 other serotypes. The main symptoms of epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC) (pronounced inflammatory swelling of the plica and caruncula, nummular corneal infiltations) are not confined to Ad 8 infections. For the virological diagnosis, a combination of virus isolation and serology is recommended. Virus isolation is mostly successful from conjunctival swabs obtained during the first week of the disease. For serological investigation, the first blood specimen should be taken as early as possible, the second not earlier than 15 days after onset of disease. The mere application of the group-specific adenovirus complement-fixation is insufficient; it should be supplied by neutralization and hemagglutination-inhibition with Ad 8 (or Ad 19) virus, although these reactions are not invariably type-specific. A swifter diagnosis of the adenovirus infection by immunofluorescence performed in cell cultures inoculated with conjunctival material, 3 or 7 days after inoculation, was often successful; however, this procedure proved to be less sensitive than virus isolation.