title: Fungal keratitis as an indicator of HIV infection in Africa.
abstract: A 1-year hospital-based study was undertaken on 212 patients at Muhimbili Medical Centre (MMC) from October 1994 to October 1995. The objective was to determine the aetiology of corneal ulceration. A comparison of the prevalence of HIV infection between patients with fungal keratitis and those with non-fungal keratitis was included. Bacterial infection (32.1%), and mycotic infection (15.1%) were the leading causes of corneal ulceration. There were 32 patients with fungal keratitis and 180 patients with non-fungal keratitis. The male:female ratio for patients with fungal keratitis was 1.7:1 and the peak age group was 20-50 years. Fusarium solani was the commonest organism accounting for 75% of cases with fungal keratitis. Twenty of 32 (81.2%) cases with fungal keratitis were found to be HIV positive; 33% of those with non-fungal keratitis were HIV positive (P-value was < 0.001).
authors.affiliation: Muhimbili Medical Centre, Department of Ophthalmology, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mselle
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000349:Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003320:Corneal Ulcer / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D015821:Eye Infections, Fungal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D005670:Fusarium / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution