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Etiologies of Infectious Keratitis in Malawi.

Etiologies of Infectious Keratitis in Malawi.

Authors :
Kalua K
Misanjo ES
Lietman TM
Ruder K
Zhong L
Chen C
Liu Y
Yu D
Abraham T
Wu N
Yan D
Hinterwirth A
Doan T
Seitzman GD
Source :
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene [Am J Trop Med Hyg] 2024 Jul 16; Vol. 111 (3), pp. 694-697. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jul 16 (Print Publication: 2024).
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

Infectious keratitis is a leading cause of corneal blindness worldwide with little information known about causative etiologies in Malawi, Africa. This area is resource-limited with ophthalmologist and microbiology services. The Department of Ophthalmology at the Kamuzu College of Health Sciences in Blantyre, Malawi, is a participating site of an international corneal ulcer consortium, capriCORN (Comprehensive Analysis of Pathogens, Resistomes, and Inflammatory-markers in the CORNea). In this study, 50 patients with corneal ulcers were swabbed for pathogen identification using RNA-sequencing. Corneal trauma was reported in 41% and 19% of the patients worked in agriculture. A pathogen was identified in 58% of the cases. Fungal pathogens predominated, followed by viruses and bacteria. Aspergillus, Fusarium, HSV-1, and Gardnerella were the most common pathogens detected. 50% of patients reported treatment with an antibiotic before presentation. Pathogens unusual for infectious keratitis, such as Subramaniula asteroids, Aureobasidium pullulans, and Gardnerella vaginalis, were also detected.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1476-1645
Volume :
111
Issue :
3
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
39013379
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.24-0149