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Adenoviral Keratoconjunctivitis

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Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology

Synonyms

Acute conjunctivitis; Follicular conjunctivitis; Pink eye; Pseudomembranous conjunctivitis; Red eye

Definition

Adenoviral conjunctivitis is an inflammatory condition that affects the bulbar and palpebral conjunctiva as a result of an adenovirus infection.

Etiology

Adenoviruses, which are nonenveloped DNA viruses, are the most common cause of viral conjunctivitis. Of the 41 adenovirus serotypes, 19 can cause conjunctivitis. These infections are highly infectious, spreading via respiratory droplets or direct contact from fingers to the lids and conjunctival surface or in swimming pools. The incubation period is usually 5–12 days, and the clinical illness is present for 5–15 days. The two main infections of adenoviral conjunctivitis are:

  • Pharyngoconjunctival fever (PCF): Associated with systemic infection and is produced by adenovirus serotypes 3, 4, and 7.

  • Epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC): The severest ocular disease. Adenovirus serotypes 8, 19, and 37 are the serotypes most...

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References

  • Krachmer JH, Mannis MJ, Holland EJ (2011) Cornea, 3rd edn. Elsevier/Mosby, Philadelphia

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  • Sambursky R, Tauber S, Schirra F et al (2006) The RPS adeno detector for diagnosing adenoviral conjunctivitis. Ophthalmology 113:1758–1764

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yanoff M, Duker JS, Augsburger JJ (2009) Ophthalmology, 3rd edn. Mosby, St. Louis

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalomogy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Ziyad Alharbi & Majed Alkharashi

Authors
  1. Ziyad Alharbi
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  2. Majed Alkharashi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ziyad Alharbi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Ophthal & Optometry,AKH, Medical University of Wien Dept of Ophthal & Optometry,AKH, Wien, Austria

    Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main Department of Ophthalmology, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Thomas Kohnen

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Alharbi, Z., Alkharashi, M. (2014). Adenoviral Keratoconjunctivitis. In: Schmidt-Erfurth, U., Kohnen, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_745-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_745-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-35951-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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