Genetic characterization of adenovirus strains isolated from patients withacute conjunctivitis in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Genome analysis was carried out on adenovirus strains isolated from patient s with acute follicular conjunctivitis in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Ei ghteen conjunctival scrapings, collected between December 1993 and March 19 94, were analyzed by two methods: a combination of polymerase chain reactio n with restriction fragment length polymorphism and viral DNA restriction a nalysis, carried out using 10 restriction endonucleases: BamHI, BglI, BglII , HindIII, KpnI, SacI, SalI, SmaI, XbaI, and XhoI. Among 11 adenovirus dete cted by cell culture isolation, nine were Ad8, and two were Ad7. By restric tion analysis the Ad8 isolates were typed as two new variants-Ad8/D11 (seve n of nine samples) and Ad8/D12 (two of nine samples). Ad7 isolates were ide ntified as a subtype of the widespread genome type Ad7b and the virulent ty pe Ad7h, a predominant genome type circulating in Argentina, Chile, and Uru guay but absent in Brazil until 1991. J. Med. Virol 61:143-149, 2000.