Epidemiology and molecular characteristics of Coxsackie A virus causing acute conjunctivitis; an outbreak in the town of Gangtok, North East India
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Introduction: Viral conjunctivitis is the most common form among the infectious causes of conjunctivitis and accounts for almost 80% of the cases. This study was done to evaluate the cause of the outbreak of conjunctivitis and is the first study that has been carried out in this part of India.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional retrospective descriptive hospital-based study was conducted to evaluate the cause of conjunctivitis. 104 conjunctival swabs were collected and placed in the Viral Transport Medium and tested by RT-PCR. Positive samples were sent to NIV Pune for further characterization by virus isolation and sequencing. All 57 positive samples were further subjected to PCR with EV70 and CVA24 specific primers targeting VP3 and 3C proteinase respectively.Results: 57 tested positive for Enterovirus Coxsackie A24, 11 positive for Adenovirus. The resulting analysis revealed that all 2024 outbreak sequences showed close relatedness with 2023 isolates from India, as well as isolates from China and Pakistan, within genotype IV. Consequently, these sequences are confirmed as newly classified members of genotype IV, consistent with previous phylogenies based on the VP1 and 3Cgenes.Conclusion: Acute conjunctivitis is a common presentation to the emergency as well as the ophthalmology department. It is highly contagious and spreads through close contacts and fomites. This study on viral conjunctivitis is the first study that has been done in this region.
Institutions: Government of Sikkim, ICMR-National Institute of Virology
Language: English
Subfield: Ophthalmology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7166345386