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Br J Ophthalmol 2002;86:941-942 doi:10.1136/bjo.86.8.941
  • Letter

Aetiology of microbial keratitis in northern Tanzania

  1. T R G Poole1,
  2. D L Hunter1,
  3. E M K Maliwa2,
  4. A R C Ramsay3
  1. 1Department of Ophthalmology, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Moshi, Tanzania, Africa
  2. 2Department of Microbiology
  3. 3Clinical Laboratory
  1. Correspondence to: Mr Poole; trgp{at}fish.co.uk
  • Accepted 10 April 2002

The incidence of corneal blindness caused by microbial keratitis in the developing world is far higher than that in the developed world.1 Microbial keratitis has become a more prominent cause of corneal blindness in east Africa as the uptake of measles immunisation improves, reducing measles keratitis scarring, and with improved recognition and treatment of vitamin A deficiency, reducing its associated xerophthalmia and subsequent corneal scarring.

It has been shown that in tropical climates, keratitis of fungal aetiology is much more prevalent than in temperate climates.2,3 Little information is available about microbial keratitis in east Africa. The aim of this study was to identify the causative organisms of the condition seen in patients presenting to the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) hospital in northern Tanzania, east Africa. KCMC is one of the largest hospitals in Tanzania, situated on the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, serving five regions in northern and central Tanzania—Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Singida, Tanga, and Dodoma with a population of approximately eight million people.

Clinical cases

Patients referred to, or presenting for the first time to, KCMC with clinical signs of microbial keratitis, were prospectively recruited to the study, between May 1997 and April 1998. Patients with corneal ulceration without infiltration were …

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