A Nosocomial Outbreak of Epidemic Keratoconjunctivitis due to Adenovirus Type 37

Abstract
An outbreak of epidemic keratoconjunctivitis occurred at the department of ophthalmology of a hospital in Yokohama, involving 14 inpatients, 12 outpatients, and 2 doctors. Adenovirus type 37 (Ad-37) was isolated from the conjunctival swab in 12 of 18 cases. In neutralization tests, the isolates showed some cross-reaction with adenovirus type 19 (Ad-19). The Ad-37 isolates were indistinguishable from each other and from the prototype Ad-37, but distinct from the prototype Ad-19 in the restriction endonuclease analysis of viral DNA.