title: [The virological and epidemiological aspects of human adenoviral conjunctivitis in Tunisia].
abstract: Human adenoviruses (HAdV) are the main cause of viral conjunctivitis. In Tunisia and North Africa more generally, there is no regular nationwide surveillance program that monitors viruses causing conjunctivitis and keratoconjunctivitis. In this study, we report the results of HAdV screening in conjunctival samples collected for over 14 years in Tunisia. A total of 282 conjunctival samples received between 2000 and 2013 were investigated. Detection and identification of genotype were performed by PCR-sequencing at the hexon gene; 64.5% of samples (n=182) revealed positive by PCR detection without correlation noted between infection, age, sex, social class or clinical manifestations of viral conjunctivitis. HAdV-D8 was the largely predominant genotype in Tunisia, representing 81.3% of all isolates, and was detected continuously from 2000 to 2013. Minor co-circulating genotypes were also identified - HAdV-E4, HAdV-B3, B55 and HAdV-B7 - accounting for 10.7%, 4.9%, 1.9% and 0.9% of isolates, respectively. In conclusion, this work reports epidemiological data on adenoviral conjunctivitis from a region where such information is very scarce and contributes to a better knowledge of the worldwide distribution of causative genotypes. It also presents an approach for the identification of circulating HAdV in the country and demonstrates the importance of molecular tools for both detection and identification of genotypes, which allow rapid virological investigation, especially during epidemics.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de virologie clinique, Pasteur Institute of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisie; Faculté de sciences de Bizerte, université de Carthage, Tunis, Tunisie. Electronic address: nadia2074@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fedaoui
authors.affiliation: Institut d'ophtalmologie Hédi Raies, Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ben Ayed
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de virologie clinique, Pasteur Institute of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ben Yahia
authors.affiliation: Institut d'ophtalmologie Hédi Raies, Tunis, Tunisie; Université Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Matri
authors.affiliation: Institut d'ophtalmologie Hédi Raies, Tunis, Tunisie; Université Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nacef
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de virologie clinique, Pasteur Institute of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisie; Université Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Triki
mesh_terms: D000258:Adenovirus Infections, Human / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D000260:Adenoviruses, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003236:Conjunctivitis, Viral / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014416:Tunisia / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adénovirus humains; Clinical; Clinique; Conjonctivite virale; Human adenoviruses; Molecular epidemiology; Tunisia; Tunisie; Viral conjunctivitis; Épidémiologie moléculaire