title: Etiological Analysis of Fungal Keratitis and Rapid Identification of Predominant Fungal Pathogens.
abstract: Fungal keratitis is a worldwide-distributed refractory and potentially blinding ocular infection caused by various fungi. It is necessary to investigate the etiological and epidemiological characteristics of this disease and establish a rapid and specific pathogenic identification method. Here, we isolated and identified fungal pathogens of 275 patients with presumed fungal keratitis from Jilin Province, China, and conducted statistical analyses of epidemiological information. The positive rate of fungal culture was 72.0 %. Fusarium sp. was the most common genus among 210 fungal isolates. The predominant species were Fusarium solani, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Candida glabrata, which accounted for over 50 % of the isolated organisms. Corneal trauma and previous use of drugs were the most important predisposing factors. In addition, a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was designed with species-specific primers of the three species that could identify them with amplicons of approximately 330 bp from F. solani, 275 bp from A. fumigatus, and 230 bp from C. glabrata. Additionally, PCR with fungal universal primers and multiplex PCR were performed using DNA prepared by an improved DNA extraction method from corneal scrapings. With this method, fungal pathogens from corneal scrapings could be specifically and rapidly identified within 8 h. The culture-independent rapid identification of corneal scrapings may have great significance for the early diagnosis and treatment of fungal keratitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathogenobiology, Jilin University Mycology Research Center, Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, No. 126 Xinmin Street, Changchun City, Jilin Province, 130021, China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun City, 130021, China.
authors.forename: Jilong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathogenobiology, Jilin University Mycology Research Center, Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, No. 126 Xinmin Street, Changchun City, Jilin Province, 130021, China.
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathogenobiology, Jilin University Mycology Research Center, Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, No. 126 Xinmin Street, Changchun City, Jilin Province, 130021, China.
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathogenobiology, Jilin University Mycology Research Center, Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, No. 126 Xinmin Street, Changchun City, Jilin Province, 130021, China.
authors.forename: Wanting
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathogenobiology, Jilin University Mycology Research Center, Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, No. 126 Xinmin Street, Changchun City, Jilin Province, 130021, China.
authors.forename: Qiushi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathogenobiology, Jilin University Mycology Research Center, Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, No. 126 Xinmin Street, Changchun City, Jilin Province, 130021, China. wli99@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D015821:Eye Infections, Fungal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007634:Keratitis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000379:methods; D060885:Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers
keywords: Epidemiology; Fungi; Identification; Keratitis; Multiplex PCR