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Abstract Background Mycotic keratitis is an important cause of corneal blindness world over including India. Geographical location and climate are known to influence the profile of fungal diseases. While there are several reports on mycotic keratitis from southern India, comprehensive clinico-microbiological reports from eastern India are few. The reported prevalence of mycotic keratitis are 36.7%,36.3%,25.6%,7.3% in southern, western, north- eastern and northern India respectively. This study reports the epidemiological characteristics, microbiological diagnosis and treatment outcome of mycotic keratitis at a tertiary eye care center in eastern India. Methods A retrospective review of medical and microbiology records was done for all patients with laboratory proven fungal keratitis. Results Between July 2006 and December 2009, 997 patients were clinically diagnosed as microbial keratitis. While no organisms were found in 25.4% (253/997) corneal samples, 23.4% (233/997) were bacterial, 26.4% (264/997) were fungal (45 cases mixed with bacteria), 1.4% (14/997) were Acanthamoeba with or without bacteria and 23.4% (233/997) were microsporidial with or without bacteria. Two hundred fifteen of 264 (81.4%, 215/264) samples grew fungus in culture while 49 corneal scrapings were positive for fungal elements only in direct microscopy. Clinical diagnosis of fungal keratitis was made in 186 of 264 (70.5%) cases. The microscopic detection of fungal elements was achieved by 10% potassium hydroxide with 0.1% calcoflour white stain in 94.8%(238/251) cases. Aspergillus species (27.9%, 60/215) and Fusarium species (23.2%, 50/215) were the major fungal isolates. Concomitant bacterial infection was seen in 45 (17.1%, 45/264) cases of mycotic keratitis. Clinical outcome of healed scar was achieved in 94 (35.6%, 94/264) cases. Fifty two patients (19.7%, 52/264) required therapeutic PK, 9 (3.4%, 9/264) went for evisceration, 18.9% (50/264) received glue application with bandage contact lens (BCL) for impending perforation, 6.1% (16/264) were unchanged and 16.3% (43/264) were lost to follow up. Poor prognosis like PK (40/52, 75.9%, p < 0.001) and BCL (30/50, 60%, p < 0.001) was seen in significantly larger number of patients with late presentation (> 10 days). Conclusions The relative prevalence of mycotic keratitis in eastern India is lower than southern, western and north-eastern India but higher than northern India, however, Aspergillus and Fusarium are the predominant genera associated with fungal keratitis across India. The response to medical treatment is poor in patients with late presentation.

Morganella morganii, a non-negligent opportunistic pathogen of the family Enterobacteriaceae, enlisted recently in the global priority pathogens by WHO for its swift propensity to acquire drug-resistant genes, engendering enhanced death rates. A combination of diverse antimicrobials could be recycled to overcome the ongoing acquisition of resistance mechanisms by M. morganii . Herein, we investigated the in vitro synergistic effect of colistin with meropenem, rifampicin, minocycline and linezolid against three intrinsic colistin-resistant M. morganii strains collected from critical departments of tertiary care hospitals. The strains were identified and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility by VITEK 2 automated system. The 16S rRNA sequencing was used to reconfirm the species identification. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of colistin, meropenem, rifampicin, minocycline and linezolid were determined by the broth microdilution method. Synergistic interactions were studied by checkerboard and time-kill assay. The VITEK 2 identification and 16S rRNA sequencing confirmed that the strains were M. morganii . The automated antimicrobial susceptibility test revealed that all three isolates were multi-drug resistant. The checkerboard analysis demonstrated the synergy of all four combinations with FICI values ranging from 0.06 to 0.31 in all three isolates. These results suggest a potential role of meropenem as an adjuvant for treating M. morganii infections. The current work presented the first evidence of synergy between colistin and other antibiotics against M. morganii infection, which needs validation through in vitro and in vivo studies using a larger number of isolates., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-023-03551-w., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest in the publication., (© King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology 2023.)

Purpose: To report the clinical and microbiological characteristics and treatment outcome of bacterial keratitis at a tertiary eye care center in eastern India., Design: Retrospective analysis of medical and microbiology records., Methods: All patients had undergone complete clinical and microbiological evaluation for microbial keratitis. Patients with laboratory-proven bacterial keratitis were included in the study., Results: Between July 2006 and December 2010, 1417 microbial keratitis was clinically diagnosed in the patients. Whereas no organisms were found in 27.8% (394/1417) of cases, 21.4% (303/1417) were bacterial. From 303 patients, 347 bacterial isolates were cultured, 260 (74.9%) of which were gram-positive, 67 were gram-negative, and 20 were acid-fast. Streptococcus pneumoniae was the predominant isolate (86/347 [24.7%]), followed by Staphylococcus species [64/347 (18.4%)]. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (29/347 [8.3%]) was the most common gram-negative bacterial isolate. High level of susceptibility to cefazolin (96.2%) and vancomycin (96.5%) was found in gram-positive cocci, whereas susceptibility of Pseudomonas species to gatifloxacin was 95.1%. Fifty-three patients (17.5%) required tissue adhesive, and 47 (15.5%) needed penetrating keratoplasty. Healed corneal scar was achieved in 188 patients (62%), whereas 34 (11.2%) were lost to follow-up. Large stromal infiltrate size, older age group, and poor presenting visual acuity were significant factors that adversely affected final outcome (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: Proportion of bacterial keratitis was low compared with other studies from India. Gram-positive bacteria were a common cause of bacterial keratitis with high susceptibility to cefazolin and vancomycin. Gram-negative bacteria were sensitive to gatifloxacin with overall good treatment outcome.

In humans, infection with Hymenolepis diminuta is usually uncommon but has been reported from various areas of the world. Parasitization rates ranging between 0.001% and 5.5% have been reported according to different surveys. We report a rare case of H. diminuta infection in a 10-year-old female from the rural area of Kendrapada district of Odisha. The patient came to our pediatrics outpatient department with the chief complain of intermittent abdominal pain, anal pruritus and nocturnal restlessness. She responded well to praziquantel therapy.

Strongyloides stercoralis is an intestinal nematode causing endemic infection, mostly in immunocompromised individuals, in tropical and subtropical regions. Herewith, we are reporting a rare case of this kind in immunocompetent patient. A 31-year-old male patient presented with chief complaints of chronic diarrhea and loss of weight since last 4 months. He reported passing watery and foul smelling stool. He also had loss of appetite since last 2 months and was diagnosed as diabetic since last 4 months but he was not given any treatment for this and his fasting blood sugar was 110 mg/dl. His HIV status was negative. Stool examination done on three occasions showed plenty of S. stercoralis larvae. Patient responded well to albendazole therapy. Strongyloidiasis is not always associated with compromise in immune status. It should be suspected in immunocompetent individuals with history of long-term diarrhea and weight loss.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) emerged as a nosocomial pathogen in early 1960s, causing Increasing number of outbreaks in 19708, first reported in a teaching hospital in Malaysia in 1972, causing increased mortality, morbidity, and healthcare costs. Aim of this study is to screen out MRSA from various clinical samples and to see their antibiotic susceptibility pattern. From May 2008 to May 2009, 204 S aureus strains were isolated, out of which 114 (55.8%) were MRSA, and rest methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). Most of the MRSA strains were obtained from pus (45%) followed by urine (20.5%). Frequency of isolating MRSA were maximum in catheter tip (80%) followed by blood (66.7%) and pus (58.7%). MRSA strains were showing 100% sensitivity to vancomycin and Iinezolid, whereas 92.9% to teicoplanin. Therefore it is concluded that antibiotics other than vancomycin can be used as anti-MRSA agents after sensitivity test, as well as irrational and indiscriminate use of antibiotics can be avoided.

Human ocular infestation by a live filarial adult worm is a rare occurrence. We report a case of ocular infestation of a female adult Brugia malayi. A 35-year-old female presented with chief complaint of severe headache, blurring of vision, redness, and lacrimation since one year. On examination, there was conjunctival chemosis, congestion, and white-colored worm with wriggling movement in the anterior chamber of eye. The worm removed by paracentesis of anterior chamber. Identification basing on typical morphology showed to be adult female B. malayi, and was confirmed by immunochromatographic test. The patient responded completely to diethylcarbamazine treatment. Live adult worm in the anterior chamber of eye is uncommon in India; nevertheless, ophthalmologists should be aware of this clinical manifestation and go for a proper identification of the worm.

Live intraocular nematode is a rare occurrence that is mostly reported in South East Asian countries. Herewith we report such a case from Nayagarh district of Odisha. A 28 year old female presented with swelling, redness, lacrimation, pain & diminished vision of left eye since 2 1/2 years. Slit lamp examination revealed a worm piercing iris muscle. The worm was removed by paracentesis of anterior chamber and sent to the Department of Microbiology. It was identified to be Gnathostoma spinigerum basing on the typical morphology of its cephalic end. The patient responded completely to oral albendazole therapy.