EPIDEMIC keratoconjunctivitis is a distinct entity which is characterized principally by sudden onset of acute follicular conjunctivitis, glandular adenopathy, and the occurrence of small infiltrates in the deeper epithelium and Bowman's membrane. As the name implies, it occurs in epidemic form, and it was recently prevalent throughout the world.
There was considerable uncertainty as to the exact nature of the etiologic agent of epidemic keratoconjunctivitis. Wright,1 who in 1930 isolated a filter-passing agent which would produce keratitis in human volunteers, was the first of the advocates of the viral etiology. The identity of a specific virus as the etiologic agent of epidemic keratoconjunctivitis was established in 1943 by Sanders.2 He was able to isolate the agent from two patients by inoculating mice intracerebrally. The virus became attenuated in serial passage in mice but was increased in potency when it was passed through special tissue culture media for several