Molecular identification of adenoviral conjunctivitis in Turkey.

Purpose: The aim of the study was isolation of adenoviruses by cell culture and identification using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and phylogenetic analyses in patients clinically diagnosed with viral conjunctivitis in Ankara, Turkey.

Methods: Conjunctival swabs from 34 patients with acute conjunctivitis were tested using cell culture isolation and PCR for adenovirus detection. PCR-positive samples were sequenced and typed.

Results: The positive results of adenovirus were 26.5% (9 of 34) by the PCR method and 20.6% by culture isolation. Nine samples positive at PCR were identified by phylogenetic analyses as human adenovirus 8 (HAdV-8) (4 of 9), HAdV-3 (3 of 9), HAdV-4 (1 of 9), and HAdV-B (1 of 9).

Conclusions: Our study showed types of adenoviruses in patients with ocular infection that occurred in this region of Turkey for the first time. Furthermore, sequence-based typing method is an efficient, accurate, and rapid means of diagnosis and typing of the adenovirus and has significant clinical and epidemiologic implications. HAdV-8 was major type for acute conjunctivitis in Ankara, Turkey. Further studies are required to reveal the major types of HAdVs that cause ocular diseases in this region of the world.