Abstract
Purpose To identify the normal conjunctival flora in a rural population in Sierra Leone and compare the normal ocular flora of a developing country with that of the developed world. Methods Conjunctival swabs obtained from healthy right eyes of 276 residents of Masungbo, Sierra Leone, were analyzed for growth of microorganisms. Results The most commonly isolated organisms from conjunctival swabs of healthy eyes were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (28.6%), fungus (26.0%), Staphylococcus aureus (19.9%), Gram negatives other than Pseudomonas/Haemophilus (9.8%), Nocardia/Actinomyces (6.5%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (6.2%). Conclusions There is a high prevalence of fungal and bacterial colonization of healthy eyes in a rural population of Sierra Leone. A relationship may exist between resident normal flora and the etiology of ocular infections.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Gritz D, Scott T, Sedo S (1997) Ocular flora of patients with AIDS compared with those of HIV-negative patients. Cornea 16(4):400–405
Martins E, Alvarenga L, Hofling-Lima A (2004) Aerobic bacterial conjunctival flora in diabetic patients. Cornea 23(2):136–142
Isekeleli G, Bahar H, Eroglu E. Microbial changes in conjunctival flora with day continuous-wear silicone hydrogel contact lenses. Eye Contact Lens 124:126
AK Leck et al. (2002) Aetiology of suppurative corneal ulcers in Ghana and south India, and epidemiology of fungal keratitis. Br J Ophthalmol 86:1211–1215
Speaker M, Milch F, Shah M (1991) Role of external bacterial flora in the pathogenesis of acute postoperative endophthalmitis. Ophthalmology 98:639–649
Khorozo D, Thompson R (1935) The bacterial flora of the normal conjunctiva. Am J Ophthalmol 18:1114
Ainley R, Smith B (1965) Fungal flora of the conjunctival sac in healthy and diseased eye. Br. J Ophthalmol 49:505–515
Tzu W, Mitchell B, Carothers T (2003) Molecular analysis of the pediatric ocular surface for fungi. Curr Eye Res 26(1):33–36
Tomar V, Sharma O, Joshi K (1971) Bacterial and fungal flora of normal conjunctiva. Ann Ophthal pp 669–671
Hammeke JC, Ellis PP (1960) Mycotic flora of the conjunctiva. Am J Ophthalmol 1174–1178
Azevedo, ML (1962) Arch Bras Oftalmol 25:41
Epidemiology of Onchocerciasis (1987) Report of WHO expert committee, technical report series no. 752, World Health Organization, Geneva
Data on blindness throughout the world (1979) WHO Chronicle 33:275–283
Upadhyay MP, Karmacharya PC, Koirala S et al (1991) Epidemiologic characteristics, predisposing factors, and etiologic diagnosis of corneal ulceration in Nepal. Am J Ophthalmol 111:92–99
Singer T, Isenberg S, Apt L (1988) Conjunctival anaerobic and aerobic bacterial flora in pediatric versus adult subjects. Br J Ophthalmol 72:448–451
Okhravi N, Adamson P, Mant R (1998) PCR and RFLP mediated detection and speciation of Candida spp. causing intraocular infection. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 39:859–866
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Capriotti, J.A., Pelletier, J.S., Shah, M. et al. Normal ocular flora in healthy eyes from a rural population in Sierra Leone. Int Ophthalmol 29, 81–84 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-008-9196-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-008-9196-4