Ophthalmia neonatorum in a semi-rural African community.
The incidence and aetiology of ophthalmia neonatorum have been estimated over a 7-month period in Franceville, a semi-rural community in south-eastern Gabon. Chlamydia trachomatis was the most frequently observed pathogen, being isolated from 17 babies (2.7% of births), and Neisseria gonorrhoeae was recovered from 12 (1.6% of births). 5 of 17 cases of chlamydial conjunctivitis were in infants less than 5 d old as opposed to 9 in the typical 5 to 10-days-old group. As expected, most cases of gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum occurred in the first 5 d of life with cases in older infants often not accompanied by a granulocytic response. Chlamydial conjunctivitis was usually unilateral whereas other cases were most frequently bilateral.
D000367:Age Factors; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D005681:Gabon; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009878:Ophthalmia Neonatorum / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012423:Rural Health