An outbreak of acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis due to Coxsackievirus A24 in a residential school, Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh: July 2023.
Indian J Med Microbiol
; 48: 100549, 2024.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38395257
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
An acute conjunctivitis outbreak was investigated at a residential school in Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India, in July 2023. We aimed to identify the etiological agent and assess any complications in follow-up cases.METHODS:
We used a structured questionnaire to record clinical findings and followed up with cases one-month post-conjunctivitis. Sixty-one cases were examined and eight conjunctival and oropharyngeal swab samples were collected after obtaining informed consent from guardians/school authorities. We screened for 33 viral and bacterial pathogens using an IVD-approved Real-time PCR assay. Further, the samples were subjected to nucleic acid sequencing.RESULTS:
Among 465 screened students and staff, 80 individuals (approximately 17.2%) showed acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis symptoms among which 61 cases were available for clinical examination. We identified the Enterovirus responsible by targeted sequencing using next-generation sequencing. The etiological agent was found to be Coxsackievirus A24, a member of Enterovirus C, in seven out of eight samples subjected to sequencing. Common symptoms included conjunctival hyperemia and foreign body sensation (100%), bilateral eye involvement (73.8%), eye pain (70%), watery discharge (49.2%), and eyelid swelling (38%). Only 6.5% had purulent discharge. Most cases resolved within 5-6 days, with only 9.8% reporting abdominal symptoms post-conjunctivitis. No serious complications occurred within one month. Throat swabs aided in diagnosing enterovirus infections alongside eye swabs.CONCLUSIONS:
The outbreak of acute conjunctivitis was caused by Coxsackievirus A24, a member of Enterovirus C. Cases resolved spontaneously within 6-7 days, with no severe complications. Collecting oropharyngeal swabs alongside conjunctival swabs could improve enteroviral conjunctivitis diagnosis.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Conjuntivite Hemorrágica Aguda
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Surtos de Doenças
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Enterovirus Humano C
Limite:
Adolescent
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Adult
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Child
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Female
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Humans
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Male
País como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article