An outbreak of adenovirus D8 keratoconjunctivitis in Leicester, United Kingdom, from March to August 2019

We report a large epidemic (n = 126) of keratoconjunctivitis predominantly with two lineages of adenovirus (AdV) type D8 in patients seen in eye casualty between march and August 2019. Other AdV species identified by viral sequencing included B, C, and E. Despite various features of more severe eye disease being present, these were not significantly different between the different AdV species, with similar rates of pseudomembrane formation and keratitis observed in patients with AdV species B as for those with AdV species D.

Automated summary

A large epidemic of keratoconjunctivitis was reported in patients seen in eye casualty between March and August 2019, predominantly with two lineages of adenovirus type D8. Despite various features of more severe eye disease being present, there were no significant differences between different adenovirus species in terms of pseudomembrane formation and keratitis rates.