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Objective: To investigate whether a solution of oxybuprocaine hydrochloride, 0.4%, results in a false-positive response in an immunochromatographic SAS Adeno Test., Design: Experimental study., Controls: Physiologic saline and 2% lidocaine., Testing: Each chemical (100 microl) was diluted in a transport medium. Five drops (200 microl) of the resultant solution were dispensed into the round sample well of a test device. Fifteen samples were tested in each group., Main Outcome Measures: Ten minutes after the start of the test, a colored line in the "specimen" portion of the test membrane was visually read as positive or negative by a masked technician., Results: No positive reaction was observed in the control groups (physiologic saline and lidocaine). A false-positive reaction was observed in six samples (33.3%) in the oxybuprocaine group. The positive rate was significantly higher in the oxybuprocaine group compared with those in control groups (P = 0.0062, Fisher's extract probability test)., Conclusions: Oxybuprocaine may induce a false-positive reaction in an immunochromatographic SAS Adeno Test. We recommend the use of lidocaine, instead of oxybuprocaine, for local anesthesia in taking eye swabs from patients with suspected adenovirus infection.

Currently, there is no effective treatment for ocular adenoviral infections that occur in epidemics worldwide, produce significant patient morbidity, and cause substantial economic losses. We tested several new antivirals in vitro, and found that (S)-HPMPC, (S)-HPMPA, and 2'-nor-cyclic GMP demonstrated significant serotype-dependent inhibitory activity by plaque reduction assay (ID50 = 0.017-17.0 micrograms/ml) against common clinical ocular isolates and standard adenoviral serotypes (Ad 1, Ad 5, Ad 8, and Ad 19). (S)-HPMPC was the least toxic (CD50 in A549 cells = 306 micrograms/ml), and (S)-HPMPC and (S)-HPMPA had high selectivity indices.

The spread of adenovirus type 7 in England and Wales between 1971 and 1974 and the clinical features of infections with this virus were investigated in a retrospective study of virological reports and patients' clinical records. An epidemic in 1972-74 apparently stared in the North-East and spread to the South-West. Between March 1973 and the end of October 1974 the virus was recovered in 59 of 74 specimens from 42 patients. The mean age of the patients was 9 years, which suggests that a large pool of young susceptibles was important in the dissemination of the epidemic. Sore throats, cervical lymphadenopathy, conjunctivitis, and abdominal pain were common symptoms. Meningism was present in 12 patients; 2 cases had apparent neuropsychiatric sequelae.

During October and November, 1978, gastroenteritis developed in 17 of 24 young children aged between eight months and two years from an R.A.F. station in the U.K. The illness, in which diarrhoea was always the predominant symptom, had an incubation period of eight to ten days and lasted about a week. It seemed to be transmitted from child to child, and in all but one instance parents and older siblings remained well. Stool specimens from 14 of the affected children were examined bacteriologically and virologically, and a highly significant association was found between the presence of adenovirus particles in stools, identified by electron microscopy, and the acute stage of the illness. This evidence suggests that an adenovirus was the cause of this outbreak of gastroenteritis.