Background: Seasonal acute epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (SAEKC) is one of the most common ophthalmic diseases that occur as outbreaks, every year during the monsoon, contributing to significant morbidity with a very high transmission rate. In this study, we aimed to analyze the clinic-demographic profile and identify the viral etiology of SAEKC by molecular method. Methodology: Under aseptic precautions, two sterile Dacron swabs were used for collecting the conjunctival secretions from each eye separately, from patients clinically diagnosed with SAEKC, and were transported in triple layer package, under cold chain, for molecular assay for identifying the virus causing conjunctivitis. Results: Out of the total 102 patients included in the study, majority were males 60.8%. Most common clinical manifestations were conjunctival chemosis (92.2%), watery discharge (66.7%), blepharedema (63.7%), and follicles in inferior tarsal conjunctiva (81.4%). The majority (62.5%) showed contact history with family members who had conjunctivitis. On performing real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the common viruses causing SAEKC, 40 out of 102 patients had viral etiology, in which the most common was the enterovirus in 28 (70%) patients, followed by herpes simplex virus (HSV) in 9 (22.5%) patients. Mixed infection of HSV with either enterovirus or adenovirus was seen in a few patients. Conclusion: Enterovirus was the most common etiological agent identified in patients with SAEKC, followed by HSV and adenovirus. These findings highlight a shift in the prevailing etiological pattern of viruses associated with SAEKC. For appropriate clinical management and complete recovery of patients with conjunctivitis, clinicians should also consider the possibility of mixed viral infections contributing to disease presentation.
Rathnapriya et al. (Thu,) studied this question.