• keratitis

The cornea has natural defences that must be breached before an infection can occur. If the cornea is damaged by disease or injury the flora of the ocular surface and the environment in which the person lives influence the type of infections that develop. Ambient temperature and humidity have a major role in determining the micro-organisms found in the environment. It is therefore to be expected that the pathogens isolated from cases of suppurative keratitis will vary among geographic locations according to the local climate and occupational risk factors.

In the BJO Leck et al reported differences in isolates from patients with suppurative keratitis from Ghana and southern India, both of which are at similar tropical latitudes.¹ In contrast with temperate regions, the principal organisms identified in both the centres were filamentous fungi, especially Aspergillus spp and Fusarium spp, but there were also …