5-YEAR ANALYSIS OF ADENOVIRUS-8 ANTIBODY-LEVELS IN AN INDUSTRIAL COMMUNITY FOLLOWING AN OUTBREAK OF KERATOCONJUNCTIVITIS

Serum hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) antibody titers were monitored for five years with samples from 79 keratoconjunctivitis patients with type 8 adenovirus (AV-8) infection. Geometric mean antibody titers declined from 1:161 at the peak of the epidemic to 1:56 after five years. Computerized analysis of the decline in geometric mean antibody titer indicates that most patients will have a serum HI titer of 1:25 by 10 years after their clinical infection. These residual antibody levels and the consistent failure to document re-infection with AV-8 suggest that recurrent episodes of keratoconjunctivitis are caused by adenovirus serotypes other than type 8. © 1979 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hypiene and Public Health.