Fungal keratitis
Fungal keratitis is a fungal infection of the cornea, which can lead to blindness. It generally presents with a red, painful eye and blurred vision. There is also increased sensitivity to light, and excessive tears or discharge.
| Keratomycosis | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Mycotic keratitis, keratomycosis, oculomycosis |
| Specialty | Infectious diseases |
| Symptoms | Eye pain, blurred vision, red eye, eye discharge, photophobia, corneal ulceration |
| Complications | Blindness |
| Causes | Pathogenic fungi: Fusarium, Aspergillus, Candida, |
| Differential diagnosis | Other corneal infections |
| Frequency | >1 million/year, M>F |
It is caused by fungal organisms such as Fusarium, Aspergillus or Candida. Up to 70 different fungi have been found as causes.
Fungal keratitis has a worldwide distribution, but is more common in the tropics. Around 1 million people become blind every year due to fungal keratitis. Theodor Leber first described a case of fungal keratitis caused by Aspergillus in 1879.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.