Molecular typing and sequencing of adenovirus isolated from a conjunctivitis outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit by PCR

Aim: We aimed to evaluate the molecular typing of adenovirus isolated during an epidemic at the Ege University Children’s Hospital neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Materials and methods: During the NICU outbreak management, 40 clinical samples (from 15 newborn infants and 25 health care providers) were sent to a microbiology laboratory in viral transport media. All the samples were processed using a direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) test and a shell vial cell culture followed by adenovirus polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing. PCR and DNA sequencing for adenovirus hexon gene hypervariable regions 1–6 were done after DNA extraction from clinical specimens. Adenovirus typing was done using BLAST analysis. Results: Ten adenoviruses were isolated from 4 out of 10 infants, 3 out of 5 hospital staff with conjunctivitis, and 3 asymptomatic staff. Ten positive samples were identified as adenovirus type 8 by using BLAST analysis. Conclusion: We isolated adenovirus type 8, one of the most common serotypes causing conjunctivitis, during an adenovirus outbreak in our NICU. The highest positivity was obtained using the PCR method. Although DFA was positive in a limited number of cases, this test was applied rapidly at the beginning of the epidemic and contributed to the prevention of further spread.