Detection of human herpesvirus 7 in conjunctival samples collected from individuals recovering from conjunctivitis
PurposeAlthough it is often reported that adenovirus is the most common etiology for infectious conjunctivitis, a recent multi-center clinical study found that adenovirus was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction in only 16% of cases presenting with acute conjunctivitis. Here, we investigated the h...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Ophthalmology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fopht.2025.1641991/full |
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| author | Andrew T.E. Hartwick Christina E. Morettin Jennifer S. Harthan Meredith Whiteside Ellen Shorter Spencer D. Johnson Mary K. Migneco Christian K. Olson Julia B. Huecker Tammy Than Mae O. Gordon |
| author_facet | Andrew T.E. Hartwick Christina E. Morettin Jennifer S. Harthan Meredith Whiteside Ellen Shorter Spencer D. Johnson Mary K. Migneco Christian K. Olson Julia B. Huecker Tammy Than Mae O. Gordon |
| author_sort | Andrew T.E. Hartwick |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | PurposeAlthough it is often reported that adenovirus is the most common etiology for infectious conjunctivitis, a recent multi-center clinical study found that adenovirus was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction in only 16% of cases presenting with acute conjunctivitis. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that a member of Herpesviridae could be the underlying etiology in some non-adenoviral cases of conjunctivitis.MethodsMolecular assays for Herpes Simplex 1 and 2 (HSV-1, HSV-2) and Human Herpesvirus 6A, 6B and 7 (HHV-6A, HHV-6B, HHV-7) were performed on conjunctival samples collected from 18 individuals with acute conjunctivitis and during their recovery in follow-up visits that spanned up to 3 weeks. All samples, obtained from individuals enrolled in a clinical trial evaluating a conjunctivitis treatment, were from eyes that had previously tested negative for adenovirus using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques.ResultsIn total, 160 PCR assays were performed on 40 conjunctival samples. Four of these samples, obtained from four different individuals, tested positive for HHV-7. None of the samples tested positive for HSV-1, HSV-2, HHV-6A or HHV-6B.ConclusionThis data provides further evidence that Human Herpesvirus 7 can be present in the eye, as HHV-7 was detected in a subset of conjunctival samples obtained from individuals recovering from non-adenoviral conjunctivitis. Clinicians should consider non-adenoviral etiologies when managing conjunctivitis that presents as classic ‘pink eye’. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-93b8af2ff72f41d3a26c3481277e3f7d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2674-0826 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Ophthalmology |
| spelling | doaj-art-93b8af2ff72f41d3a26c3481277e3f7d2025-08-20T03:47:01ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ophthalmology2674-08262025-08-01510.3389/fopht.2025.16419911641991Detection of human herpesvirus 7 in conjunctival samples collected from individuals recovering from conjunctivitisAndrew T.E. Hartwick0Christina E. Morettin1Jennifer S. Harthan2Meredith Whiteside3Ellen Shorter4Spencer D. Johnson5Mary K. Migneco6Christian K. Olson7Julia B. Huecker8Tammy Than9Mae O. Gordon10College of Optometry, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United StatesIllinois College of Optometry, Chicago, IL, United StatesIllinois College of Optometry, Chicago, IL, United StatesSchool of Optometry, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United StatesIllinois Eye and Ear Infirmary, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United StatesCollege of Optometric Medicine, Rocky Mountain University, Provo, UT, United StatesSchool of Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, United StatesFort Sam Houston, San Antonio, TX, United StatesSchool of Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, United StatesCarl Vinson Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Dublin, GA, United StatesSchool of Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, United StatesPurposeAlthough it is often reported that adenovirus is the most common etiology for infectious conjunctivitis, a recent multi-center clinical study found that adenovirus was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction in only 16% of cases presenting with acute conjunctivitis. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that a member of Herpesviridae could be the underlying etiology in some non-adenoviral cases of conjunctivitis.MethodsMolecular assays for Herpes Simplex 1 and 2 (HSV-1, HSV-2) and Human Herpesvirus 6A, 6B and 7 (HHV-6A, HHV-6B, HHV-7) were performed on conjunctival samples collected from 18 individuals with acute conjunctivitis and during their recovery in follow-up visits that spanned up to 3 weeks. All samples, obtained from individuals enrolled in a clinical trial evaluating a conjunctivitis treatment, were from eyes that had previously tested negative for adenovirus using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques.ResultsIn total, 160 PCR assays were performed on 40 conjunctival samples. Four of these samples, obtained from four different individuals, tested positive for HHV-7. None of the samples tested positive for HSV-1, HSV-2, HHV-6A or HHV-6B.ConclusionThis data provides further evidence that Human Herpesvirus 7 can be present in the eye, as HHV-7 was detected in a subset of conjunctival samples obtained from individuals recovering from non-adenoviral conjunctivitis. Clinicians should consider non-adenoviral etiologies when managing conjunctivitis that presents as classic ‘pink eye’.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fopht.2025.1641991/fullconjunctivitisherpesHHV-7virusadenoviral |
| spellingShingle | Andrew T.E. Hartwick Christina E. Morettin Jennifer S. Harthan Meredith Whiteside Ellen Shorter Spencer D. Johnson Mary K. Migneco Christian K. Olson Julia B. Huecker Tammy Than Mae O. Gordon Detection of human herpesvirus 7 in conjunctival samples collected from individuals recovering from conjunctivitis Frontiers in Ophthalmology conjunctivitis herpes HHV-7 virus adenoviral |
| title | Detection of human herpesvirus 7 in conjunctival samples collected from individuals recovering from conjunctivitis |
| title_full | Detection of human herpesvirus 7 in conjunctival samples collected from individuals recovering from conjunctivitis |
| title_fullStr | Detection of human herpesvirus 7 in conjunctival samples collected from individuals recovering from conjunctivitis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Detection of human herpesvirus 7 in conjunctival samples collected from individuals recovering from conjunctivitis |
| title_short | Detection of human herpesvirus 7 in conjunctival samples collected from individuals recovering from conjunctivitis |
| title_sort | detection of human herpesvirus 7 in conjunctival samples collected from individuals recovering from conjunctivitis |
| topic | conjunctivitis herpes HHV-7 virus adenoviral |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fopht.2025.1641991/full |
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