Adenovirus eye infections in an Australian city, 1972–9

A 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 kerato-conjunctivitis 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.