"Pink eye?" Adenovirus? Which can be fatal for newborns and mothers should use caution when nearing end of pregnancy.

There is a rash of "pink eye" going around our community at the moment. Some of it is indeed what seems to be bacterial conjuctivitis which responds to antibiotic eye drops but others are getting pink eye following a cold. What seems like a simple cold then all of a sudden turns worse and pink eye starts. A fever and cough isn't uncommon with this either. After our oldest got a cold and pink eye on top of it, and at the same time the pink eye started (a week after this cold that we originally thought was getting better) the cold got severe. The worst cold I'd ever seen, and a fever on top of it. Three weeks later she's got a lingering cough that seems to be worse now in the mornings than last week. The day before the eye stuff started, I had her checked out for strep and it was negative (this was a Friday). Eyes clear, ears clear, no swollen glands, throat looked great, she's just getting over a simple cold. The next day the eyes within one hour of noticting something funny were swollen nearly shut, purple all around and extremely red on the eye and there was awful discharge in both eyes. She literally looked like her face had been beat severely. She cried about her eyes hurting and all day all she wanted to do was lay down with a washcloth on her eyes. This is so out of character for her. I had talked with another mother of a girl in her class (I was making phone calls postponing our daughter's birthday party that day, which was that day, because she woke up with a fever) and the mother asked if I was sure it was a cold because her daughter had pink eye that started with a cold. At this point one eye was beginning to look like it probably was, so I began putting antibiotic ointment in both eyes that I had from our infant's eye infection from a blocked tear duct months before. Within an hour things had progressively gotten worse. When I took her in on Monday (nothing but ER is available on the weekend), she had every node in her neck swollen -- even under the chin and behind the ears, an ear infection and an extremely bad cold, as well as pink eye. Her eyes were actually much, much better but there was still some discharge as well as very red eyes. The purple and swelling was gone though. She was prescribed antibiotic eye drops instead of the ointment I'd been using and within two more days everything was clear but her eyes were still pretty red and stayed that way a few more days. I have no doubt she had a bacterial eye infection, but I believe it had started as viral and then bacterial. When I had talked with my mother, she said it sounded like we were dealing with adenovirus, which my brother had in high school and got extremely sick and lost 20 lbs. in three weeks. It was misdiagnosed as "pink eye" (bacterial) and treated as such until a third diagnosis by a different doctor and he took one look at my brother and said, "Adenovirus." He gave him steroid drops for the eyes and they got better. I started doing a lot of research on "adenovirus" and "pink eye." I came across a lot. The thing is, "pink eye" is a general term for something that can be bacterial, viral or allergies. Many times it's still treated with antibacterial drops to prevent or treat secondary bacterial infections. When I took my daughter in and asked about adenovirus, I was told it could be this but it was also bacterial, which I don't doubt. The thing is, adenovirus isn't some weird rare disease. It causes common colds. But it can also be very severe. Our family has been dealing with more than just the common cold form of what I believe is a type of adenovirus (there are several types). I ended up getting a cold but not the eye stuff thankfully. Praise God, our baby just got a few sniffles a couple of days after me and thankfully I think it's largely because she is exclusively breastfed and had my antibodies to the stuff. My husband started with a cold a week after our oldest started with hers, and had the cold and a bad cough, and nearly lost his voice, a week before "pink eye" started. He immediately went in and got the eye drops before his eyes got real bad but his eyes stayed very red for nearly a week. Several other children in our town that have had pink eye recently and as long ago as Thanksgiving were dealing with the exact same thing our family has been dealing with. One mom I know even called the school nurse to tell about a cold her daughter had and the first reaction was, "It's not pink eye, is it?" It had been a cold for about a week but no eye stuff so she said no but then a few hours later she had terrible "pink eye." I wouldn't be so concerned about this if I hadn't read a tragic story of a mother who lost her newborn to this "pink eye" that was adenovirus related. Her family had gotten it before she had her son but she never got it and used caution -- even wearing gloves to change bed sheets -- before he was born. He died when he was 17 days old due to the adenovirus form of pink eye that the doctors hadn't thought would harm him. She is on a mission to educate parents of this potential tragedy and since I have this blog, I thought I could help also. I'm not trying to panic anyone. This is apparently somewhat common, but it's the potential danger to young babies that I'm concerned about. I feel that especially when there are symptoms other than what are usually common for just the "pink eye," then a culture should be done so that health care practitioners can be aware if adenovirus is the culprit and then can let expectant mothers and new mothers know to be careful -- especially if it's in their family. Also, then if a newborn does come down with an eye infection and they've been exposed to adenovirus, there may be something to do about it before it's too late. Below I've copied and pasted some excerpts from a thread on a message forum regarding this family I mention above. You can read for yourself, and visit the links that the mother posts to read for yourself:

Posts begin Jan. 10 and go through end of January. There were so many posts, I didn't copy all of them here but there are a lot:
"At the end of last January, my friend Martina gave birth to her third child, their first boy. Mason was born hale and healthy, on his due date, right around 9 lbs. A good nurser, he immediately began putting on weight. After about 10 days, however, they noticed that he was having trouble breathing and immediately took him to the hospital.The hospital was flummoxed. His health began to deteriorate and his lungs were losing efficiency. It became clear that the situation was dire. The priest was called.17 days after he was born, my friends carried home an empty car seat. The culprit was pink eye.The family had contracted pink eye before Mason was born and he was likely born with it already in his system. In rare but an increasing number of cases, the virus that causes pink eye can attack the lungs. It's a new enough problem that diagnosis is difficult and the results can be devastating. We've heard of more and more cases across the country and in my home town since Mason passed and those children who survive are often given a prognosis of breathing treatments for the rest of their lives. Children under 9 months appear to be at the greatest risk- older children's bodies are better able to fight off the infection.Mason's family has been on a campaign to raise awareness of this problem among the medical community, but I would feel that I was doing a disservice if I didn't tell you all about it as well. We all know about the dangers of RSV, but pink eye? Isn't that just supposed to be an irritation and nothing more? So if someone wants to hold your baby, in addition to asking them if they have a cold, ask about pink eye as well.It is rare for pink eye to have such devastating effects, but it has been on the rise, so please, be careful. May none of us ever suffer such a loss."

"That is so sad. I cannot imagine the devastation your friends have gone through. Thank you for that info. I had no idea."

"OMG...pink eye? That is such a tragic story, my heart goes out to your friends.
Thank you for sharing, I would have never even thought about that!"

"I don't want to be insensitive, but do you have any more information? I don't believe that pinkeye can be internalized or cause lung infections. Gonorrhea or chlamydia can cause bacterial conjunctivitis, both of which still only infect the eye. I just want to be sure we are talking about pinkeye and not some other danger that caused an infant death. If it indeed was pinkeye, it is not a common thing, as there is nothing on the CDC website or any department of health websites. I don't want to start a debate, I just want to be sure we are all getting the facts we need because it is a scary world out there."

"OMG- what a small world. My 3yr old dd was diagnosed with bacterial conjunctivitis (pink eye) while we were on vacation (and sharing a bed) on 12/12/06. She was treated and healed.
Then on 12/24 (yep- Christmas eve), I sent dh to urgent care for pink eye in both eyes. It hadn't been responding to the antibiotic eye drops the doc had said to use. Turns out his was caused by a VIRUS- adenovirus. Very RARE and capable of serious complications. He was warned to wear a MASK around me and to literally stay away from me as much as possible. The viral form of pink eye IS a systemic infection and he had systemic symptoms- swollen lymph nodes, fever, malaise, achiness. He was contagious for 4+ days. Unfortunately I was the one who had to do his drops every 4hrs since he's a big baby LOL. The doctor stressed that the viral form of pink eye could do serious harm to the baby.
I made him constantly wash his hands and I constantly disinfected everything in the house with lysol spray and wipes. Thankfully and miraculously, I have not contracted either type of pink eye, either from my dd or dh, but it still scares me that it is still incubating in me and will manifest at some point.
Just so you know, I do have a degree in microbiology and am finishing up my nursing degree, so I'm not just blowing smoke on the seriousness of this issue. I'm so glad that OP put this post on here to alert all of us!"

"Thank you" [I removed the name to protect privacy], "I have never heard this, I am glad there is more information that you shared. I have a BS in Biology and started nursing school (but postponed when I got pg with my first). I have heard of complications from pinkeye, but never systemic or neonate complications. Thank you for following up, and like I said in my post, I just want to make sure we are all getting accurate information. "

"My 2 yo DD and I both have pinkeye as I type this. It's bacterial , though, and is almost gone after 24 hours of antibiotics. As a pp mentioned, it is important to differentiate between the different causes of pinkeye as conjunctivitis can be caused by viral, bacterial or environmental (allergen) factors. I've not seen any statistics on which types are more pervasive, though, so definitely see your doctor should you develop the symptoms! So very sorry about your friend."

"To clear up a couple of things:Yes- I am 100% certain of my information. And it is new enouh that the parents have been raising money for a program to educate doctors. If it was rare, isolated and not on the rise, I wouldn't have felt compelled to write such a downer, but as I said, I feel it is my obligation to alert others.I myself have had pink eye a couple of times and I don't know that the doctor has ever differentiated between viral and bacterial, so we may not know which type someone else is infected with- the conservative route is the best in my case.I think anyone who's ever been to the funeral of a 17-day-old would agree with me on that.
"My understanding is that it was a problem for Mason because he was born with the virus still incubating. If the virus had passed prior to his birth, his mother's immune system would have protected him."

"A bit more info on the viral vs. bacterial conjunctivitis:
By far, the most prevalent type is bacterial, which is treated with a broad spectrum antibiotic eye drop, usually a sulfa derivative, Tobrex (which also has dexamethasone with it to help the inflammation) or gentamycin. Many people also choose not to treat at all, but this can lead to auto-inoculation (re-infection) as well as further spread to others.
Viral conjunctivitis can be associated w/ the common cold and again is caused by adenovirus. The website link I've put here backs this up. This is a common virus, but for some reason can cause serious complications to the unborn baby. There are NO drops specificially for viral pink eye. In fact, the doctor gave my dh anti-viral eye drops that were formulated for herpes infections of the eye! The drops are called Viroptic. These are the only type of antiviral eye drops available. Thankfully, they did help to heal him and now he is fine.
The best way to prevent getting pink eye is hand washing!!!! Also, being cognizant of not touching your eyes is really important too. Since I work in the hospital and since I'm a germaphobe thanks to my degree , I am almost obsessive about handwashing. Hand sanitizer is just as, if not more, effective at killing "germs" on your hands than hand-washing, so invest in Purell and make everyone use it if they want to touch your little one...
Ok- off my soapbox here... Sorry, ladies! Can you tell I'm a geek about this stuff? LOL"

"Thanks for all of your info- it's very helpful.Gene- They haven't set up a website yet- they've been working on fundraising instead, but she did tell me where to find information:http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/respiratory/eadfeat.htmAnd I found this as well:http://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/ceid/Human_adenovirus.htmHope those help."

This was posted by the actual mother who lost her son:
"Thank you to all of you who have shown so much compassion towards our family. My mom called last night to tell me about [Name removed] also being in your group -- of course my aunt called my mom after hearing about your group. [Name removed] has told me about your group and spreading the story about Mason. I too feel very responsible to share his story. Not to mention it helps to know that his little life can help someone else.
First, let me say to the mom with the little one with the excretion to be tested -- find out what the results of the culture are. If it is indeed adenovirus, I will get you in touch with a doc from the CDC who can advise you of your steps to follow.
As i read all your posts last night, I felt the need to educate all of you directly instead of sending you off to research on your own. Not only does the CDC have days worth of reading on their website -- but they have an entire research team working on an oral vaccination for all newborns. If you are interested in checking the CDC website just put in "adenovirus in newborns." The virus is very age specific causing the most severe reaction in the youngest newborns. Most PICU's across the nation have no idea that adenovirus will do this to a baby. I got involved in a case at Phili PICU and got the docs from Akron in touch with them. And Phili is ranked 4th in the nation. Even at Children's, they insisted that I had an STD that caused his infection. I told them he had been exposed to adeno and nothing else. He had a lumbar puncture and confirmed the only infection he had been exposed to was adeno.
So here are the details. My family became infected with pink eye 3 weeks before Mason was born. I never showed any signs or symptoms. We assumed that if everyone was healed when he was born, we would be fine. We actually were told by several doctors that if the eyes were no longer red, there was no way they were contagious. THE TRUTH is that adenovirus stays in your body for 5 weeks. It also remains on hard surfaces for DAYS!!! This stuff is no joke. And as for the Lysol, turn the can around. It kills adenovirus type 2. There are 51 other serotypes. Type 37 killed my son, I know this because the doc I mentioned from the CDC cultured it for me and let me and Akron Children's Hospital know what type it was. And as for handwashing. It is the best way to avoid the spread of bacterial conjunctivis and a whole host of other infections. Adenovirus is airborn. Why am I so certain that washing your hands is not enough??? Let me explain how last January went. My husband was diagnosed wih conjuctivitis 1/9. From then until 1/30 - Mason's birthday -- I double gloved to change sheets, wash towels, etc. Then I both washed my hands and used Purell. My little guy still isn't here. That virus sheds out of your eye for 3 days before you ever know it is there. It is likely that I was already infected before my husband and my 2 girls ever showed any signs. Here is another fact about pregnancy -- Your body will hold a virus dormant as long as you are pregnant. And the toughest fact -- one I often have to explain to 6 & 4 year old girls who lost their brother -- is that families share germs. Mason didn't die because someone held him, or came to visit him or because one of us didn't wash our hands. He died because our family that lives in our home was infected by some source that we will never know. You can't live in a bubble. This was an infection that one of us caught going about our daily lives. We do good work with our lives and I would not request that any of us stop doing what we love.
So as for our Little Mason, he has changed his mommy's life in ways you cannot imagine. I held a benefit in his honor and raised $17,000.We hav already built a playground in his honor. It was finished the day before Thanksgiving. From that money, we still have $10,000. We will present that check to the PICU at Akron Children's on Mason's birthday.
As for the Facts I gave you. The fact is that no one knew what this infection could do to him. In a way it was a blessing. We had him at home as a perfectly healthy newborn for 10 days -- pure bliss. The fact is I can no longer hold him or see him smash cake all over his chubby face in a couple of weeks. But the fact is that we have to continue to live, learn and grow. I am very determined to educate docs and families alike. I am working with a second doc from the CDC on an education piece. I will hold Mason's All-Star Benefit annually. And once Mason's foundation is in place at Children's, I will start my own non-profit for families that have also lost children or who have a child with a terminal diagnosis. The support you really NEED during making arrangements and getting through the funeral are unreal. And then there are the days ahead when you must make the decision of weeping on your couch forever or making a difference with that precious little life. I choose to make a difference. I say "choose" because it is a daily decision. And that has become and will be my life's work.
We are also expecting again. In July - when the girls have been out of school for a month and don't have to go back for almost 2 months. We figured it will cut down on the amount of germs brought into our home. So my only advice would be to take the knowledge of Mason and be smart about the decisions you make. But don't think you always get to make the decisions -- sometimes they get made for you. Then it is up to you to choose how you will react."

"
Well, DH took DS to his doctor's appointment. I printed out the information I could find as well as a copy of the post. I should have known that DH would not feel the importance of the situation as much as I did. He said the doctor thought I was being paranoid (his words, not necessarily the doctor's). He said she looked over what I printed out and said it was typical for kids to get eye infections this time of year, took a swab of his nose (was that what was needed for the culture???), and prescribed eye drops. I specifically told DH that my concern was not for DS but for our unborn baby...I even wrote that down for him. The doctor told DH that if it was viral that there was no "cure" so there was nothing that could be done.
What I would really like to bring to my OB appointment on Wednesday is something that specifically states the risks of me being exposed to my unborn baby.
Ugghh...and now my eyes are itchy and watery...I hope it is just my head playing tricks on me!"


Another post from the mother:
"I am so sorry I missed your post about the docs appt. This past week was really hectic for me!!! I only work pt but I am the VP of our PTA and I run a fundraising project at the school -- I basically ran all day every day this past week!!! I will be home this evening and I will get you as much info as you need to take to your OB. I hate that docs always give the no cure - no worry speech!!! Trust me I took Mason to the eye doc with me when he was 4 days old -- and that doc told me the same thing. When they told him Mason died from that virus, the girls in his office literally had to pick him up off the floor. No one in the Akron area thought it was a problem either. We all learned the hard way -- that is why I have been on such a warpath with the education thing!!"

"Thank you so much for sharing your story with us and for doing all you can to educate everyone, including doctors about this scary infection!
I have been so worried about this since reading your post yesterday. I am the person who was posting info on here about the differences between the viral and bacterial conjunctivitis. I knew it the viral type was airborne transmitted but had no idea just how hardy that strain of the virus is.
I never did catch it when my dh had the adenoviral pink eye at Christmastime, but now I'm extremely frightened that I've become a "carrier" and that my baby is at risk. Once he was diagnosed with it on 12/24, he immediately started wearing a mask and had already been sleeping on the couch, but he had definite pink eye symptoms for 2days prior to diagnosis. What is bizarre is that I didn't catch either my dd's bacterial pink eye earlier in Dec or his viral one. ???
Since I KNOW I was exposed to this, do I just stay vigilant about watching over my baby and looking for symptoms? This probably sounds dumb coming from someone with my background, but do you know if there are any effective antiviral treatments for the baby if they do diagnose the infection in time? I am definitely going to talk to my OB about it too.
Again, I am so sorry to hear of your tragedy and I know we are all grateful to you for sharing with all of us."

The mother again:
"The best thing you can do is to watch your baby for sypmtoms such as an irritated eye and a cough. What happened to Mason did not happen over night. As I said before, I took him to the eye doc at 4 days and they told me not to worry. I called the ped's office and they called in drops but advised that Adeno was not dangerous. We took Mason to the ER because he was pale. He presented with no symptoms except a pulse ox that was out of control. We spent Fri-Mon at the hospital on O2 and a heart monitor. They told us he would go home on Tues after they got a second look at his chest x-ray. The first appeared to be "pneumonia like" but not that bad -- it was actually his lung mass dieing from infection. On Monday he started with seizures and had 4 in 2 hours. The 4th ended up with him on blow by O2 and rushing to PICU. They still told me Adeno was not dangerous. We sat there Mon-Thurs watching him die system by system. ON Tues they came and told us that his LP only showed Adeno. We made the decision to discontinue life support on Thurs after the neurosurgeon said he would never sit in a chair and that was IF he survived the infection. We made the decision to wait until evening to disconnect. About 2 hours later, his nurse came to me and told me his lungs would not survive for more than 6 hours. So the fact that we had made the right decision was confirmed for us. During that Mon-Thurs period, his nurse found 2 meds that are possibilities. One is ribovirin and the other is cidofivir. Cidofivir causes renal failure at a very high rate. Ribovirun is a safer bet -- but there is a waiting period with the FDA to get it approved for use in a newborn. Either med still only has about a 20% success rate. There are studies that show infants infected and treated with both drugs. I will try to give you guys a link to that tonight. I am really sorry to throw this at all of you as you are about to delivier -- I just know the struggle I faced at the hospital and the arguements that I have faced in the past year. People (mostly docs) look at me like I am crazy!! But I now have a handful of docs in my back pocket that I can call on at any time -- One of those being the doc from the CDC in charge of the adeno research. I don't want to put people in panic mode -- just educate on the warning and give other moms the fuel they need to make their docs listen to their concerns!!"


"This should keep you ladies busy for awhile!! A few things you can tell your docs: Mason's death certificate has 4 cod listed -- ARDS, Disseminated Adeno Disease, Encephalitis and one more I will have to look up again -- it had to do with coagulopathy. Anyway, thought that would be helpful as you are looking through these articles -- also, he presented like APS when we went to ER. Let me know about the questions you have!!
www.springerlink.com/index/M9GK24MFY6FE0FM5.pdf
http://pathmicro.med.sc.edu/virol/para-rsv-aden.htm
pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/87/6/890
http://www.specialtylabs.com/books/display.asp?id=281
This is the article run prior to Mason's benefit:
http://www.akron.com/20060831/wsl3.asp
http://www.emedicine.com/PED/topic52.htm
http://www.chemicon.com/Product/ProductDataSheet.asp?ProductItem=3105
http://www.eyecaresource.com/conditions/pink-eye/physician-guide.html
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/110/1/e9
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1651-2227.2000.tb00771.x
www.medscape.com/viewarticle/425677
www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1287829"

"To [names removed],
There really is no way to treat this. It will either run its course, or it will send a baby into sepsis. It is not always as severe as Mason's case, but most babies that have any type of severe reaction from this virus usually end up on breathing treatments 4-5 times/day - for life. That is why the CDC is so focused of coming up with an immunization for all newborns.
There are no set rules of the game here. I think that timing was just so incredibly bad that his body was already infected and it is a virus -- so it got into his DNA and replicated everywhere!!! Remember that this was also a learning process for ALL the docs and nurses involved. You guys are in that window -- so it was actually a very smart time for Betsy to have brought this up. We both just want all of you to be informed that the possibility does exist. AND I want you to know that you will have to be very persistent with your docs. Most likely they have never heard of it and will look at you like you are crazy. I can put them in touch with the docs and nurses that cared for Mason."

Here she is answering some more questions from other mothers who have children with pink eye:
"If the infection is crusty and has sealing her eye, it is probably bacterial. Let me clarify one thing, my husband had such a bad case of this that his visual acuity went from 20/20 to 20/80 in his right eye. This viral from of pink eye can involve the cornea and is extremely painful. Our children did not get that bad, nor did I as I was in the PICU with Mason. I honestly think the constant stream of tears "cleared" my eye.
I would start by being vigilant with the eye doc to culture any excretion (also can be tested with nasal swab). I would then inform your OB about Mason's case and set a game plan in motion. Again, I can get your OB or pediatrician in touch with Mason's docs. Had we known that ribavirun could have been used while we were in the hospital for the 1st 3 days, maybe we could have started it in time to have a chance at saving him. As it was, he got one dose and it was way too late. Again, these meds are no sure cure -- but they give you a glimpse of hope.


Adenoviruses are common pediatric pathogens that result in respiratory illnesses which are usually benign but which can sometimes be severe (4, 11). Neonatal adenovirus infection has rarely been reported, but in most cases the outcome of the infection was fatal (1-3, 12, 14, 16, 21), although cases with and without complications have been reported (19). A fatal disseminated adenovirus infection was described for a neonate born after spontaneous vaginal delivery who suffered from severe keratoconjunctivitis, pneumonitis, pharyngitis, skin lesions, hepatosplenomegaly, and hemorrhagic diathesis (14).
Another study (2) described adenovirus infection of four neonates and reviewed nine further neonatal adenovirus cases reported in the literature. In all cases, adenovirus infection followed vaginal delivery, and symptoms began within 10 days of birth. One half of the mothers were ill with upper respiratory symptoms, fever, and/or constitutional symptoms in the perinatal period. All infants had pneumonia, lethargy, fever, and hepatomegaly, but none developed any form of ocular abnormality. In 11 of the 13 neonates (85%), infection was fatal, with death occurring 4 to 19 days after onset of symptoms.
Three further cases of neonatal adenovirus infections where adenovirus pneumonia was diagnosed postmortem have been described (12). In two cases, the patients were born by Caesarean section at 35 or 36 weeks of gestation, and the other patient was born by vaginal delivery at 43 weeks of gestation. Respiratory insufficiency was detected just after birth or in the immediate postnatal period and was associated with lethargy and chest X-ray findings of pneumonic infiltration. Postmortem findings of these neonates were consistent with predominant lung involvement.
More recently, nonfatal adenovirus infection has been described for seven neonates (19). All manifested with nonspecific symptoms, such as excessive crying, apnea, cyanotic episodes, maculopapular rash, and fever, but none developed conjunctivitis. The serotypes of adenovirus involved were not described.
Potential sources of adenovirus infection in neonates include horizontal transmission (from mother or other family members) and vertical transmission. Vertical transmission may be suggested by the presence of symptoms in mothers preceding or shortly after delivery and the occurrence of symptoms in the neonate evident within the first 3 days of life. Acquisition of the virus from the genital tract is possible. Several reports have documented adenovirus infection of the genital tract (9, 10, 13, 18, 20). The most predominant serotypes were adenovirus type 37 followed by adenovirus types 8 and 19; adenovirus types 1, 2, 9, 10, 18, 22, 26, and 32 have also been reported but were not associated with conjunctivitis.
The factors that control the severity of adenovirus infection in neonates remain to be elucidated, although the presence of marked abnormalities in blood lymphocytes and cytokine profile has been noted in cases of fatal adenovirus infection in children aged between 30 and 730 days (17). The variation in severity may be serotype dependent, as fatal infection appears to have been mainly associated with serotypes of subgroup B, possibly due to their predilection for respiratory tissues. It is possible that infection with subgroup D strains results in only transient conjunctivitis. Conjunctivitis in neonates is usually investigated for possible C. trachomatis infection, but our results indicate that adenovirus infection should also be considered.

With a bacterial infection, the first thing you tend to notice is a crusty or goopy eye along wiht the actual red color of the eye. With a viral infection, you tend to notice the redness and the eye will water alot. That being said, even an eye doc can not always say that it is one over the other upon exam. This is due to the highly individual reactivity of the eye in general. The eye doc will almost always prescribe an antibiotic drop 1st and then wait to see if the eye responds. Even if it is viral, they will sometimes continue the antibiotic drop to prevent secondary infection from occurring. This is contained in one the articles I sent links to a few days ago. I copied and posted one of these because it discusses the specifics of severe adeno. If I come across the one about the difference of eye symptoms, I will post it as well. With our cases, there was no crusting -- but some matter about 4-5 days into the infection for my husband. Everyone else complained of itching, burning and tearing heavily. "


My heart goes out to this family and I know I'm not doing much by posting this in a blog, but I feel like it's a small way to help educate about this. I have a passion for expectant mothers and newborns that has increased with all of my pregnancy complications (this post is long enough, but browse my site if you want more info on all my complications), so I really want to try to do my part in education on this issue. Please pass this along to everyone you know with young children or expecting, as well as any friends and family you may have in the health care field.