Geographic Disparities in the Etiology of Bacterial and Fungal Keratitis in the United States of America

Abstract

Infectious keratitis is a serious cause of vision loss. Proper treatment of infectious keratitis requires antimicrobials that target the organism responsible for a patient's ulcer. The frequency of infection by a given organism varies by location. We examined the literature to determine geographic disparities in the etiology of bacterial and fungal keratitis in the United States of America. Bacterial keratitis makes up a greater proportion of cases in northern locations, and fungal keratitis increases in prevalence in southern locations. Gram-negative organisms make up a greater proportion of bacterial keratitis in southern locations when compared to northern locations.

Keywords: Bacterial keratitis; cornea; corneal ulcer; disparities; fungal keratitis; infectious keratitis; microbial keratitis; ophthalmology.