Fungal Keratitis as an Indicator of HIV Infection in Africa

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).