This study aimed to compare the virology and epidemiology of epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC), pharyngoconjunctival fever (PCF) and acute haemorrhagic conjunctivitis (AHC) outbreaks worldwide caused by the human adenovirus (HAdV) from 1953 to 2013. Eighty-three hexon sequences from 76 conjunctivitis outbreaks were analysed and subtyped using Mega 5.05, Clustal X and SimPlot software. Epidemiology was performed for the area, age and seasonal distribution. A phylogenetic analysis indicated that all the isolates could be divided into three subgenetic lineages, without a common ancestor. The major causes of the outbreaks were Ad8, Ad7 and Ad2 co-infection with enterovirus 70 (EV70) in EKC, PCF and AHC, respectively. The epidemiological findings suggested that EKC and AHC were circulating predominantly in Asia during the early winter and spring, whereas PCF was circulating mainly in China, Australia and the United States during the summer. This study suggests that EKC, AHC and PCF outbreaks have different circulating patterns throughout the world and are caused by different adenovirus serotypes. A global surveillance system should be established to monitor conjunctivitis outbreaks in the future.

Encephalitozoon cuniculi is an obligate intracellular pathogen that has a wide host distribution, but primarily affects rabbits. The aim of this study was to characterize both the cell-mediated and the antibody response in rabbits after experimental infection using 2 different infection routes: oral and ocular. SPF rabbits were infected with low (103 spores) and high (107 spores) infection doses. Monitored parameters included clinical signs, detection of spores in urine, antibody response detected with ELISA, and cell-mediated immunity detected by antigen-driven lymphocyte proliferation. At week 13 post-infection, half of the rabbits in each group were suppressed by intramuscular administration of dexamethasone. At week 18 post-infection, animals were euthanized. Clinical signs were mild with exacerbation after immunosuppression. Spores in urine and antigen-specific cell-mediated immunity were detected from weeks 5 and 4 post-infection, respectively. Specific IgM was detected 1 week after infection, and IgG antibodies followed 1 week later in rabbits infected with the high dose. Immunological responses were dose dependent. The authors can conclude that both oral and ocular experimental infection with E. cuniculi resulted in an immune response of the infected animals. Rabbits could be used as an experimental model for the study of ocular microsporidiosis.