The Case for Fungal Keratitis to Be Accepted as a Neglected Tropical Disease
Amongst the treatable cause of blindness among young people, fungal keratitis ranks high. There are an estimated 1,051,787 to 1,480,916 eyes affected annually, with 8–11% of patients having to have the eye removed. Diagnosis requires a corneal scraping, direct microscopy and fungal culture with a la...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-10-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Fungi |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/8/10/1047 |
| _version_ | 1797472285414653952 |
|---|---|
| author | Lottie Brown Guyguy Kamwiziku Rita O. Oladele Matthew J. Burton N. Venkatesh Prajna Thomas M. Leitman David W. Denning |
| author_facet | Lottie Brown Guyguy Kamwiziku Rita O. Oladele Matthew J. Burton N. Venkatesh Prajna Thomas M. Leitman David W. Denning |
| author_sort | Lottie Brown |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Amongst the treatable cause of blindness among young people, fungal keratitis ranks high. There are an estimated 1,051,787 to 1,480,916 eyes affected annually, with 8–11% of patients having to have the eye removed. Diagnosis requires a corneal scraping, direct microscopy and fungal culture with a large number of airborne fungi implicated. Treatment involves the intensive application of antifungal eye drops, preferably natamycin, often combined with surgery. In low-resource settings, inappropriate corticosteroid eye drops, ineffective antibacterial therapy, diagnostic delay or no diagnosis all contribute to poor ocular outcomes with blindness (unilateral or bilateral) common. Modern detailed guidelines on fungal keratitis diagnosis and management are lacking. Here, we argue that fungal keratitis should be included as a neglected tropical disease, which would facilitate greater awareness of the condition, improved diagnostic capability, and access to affordable antifungal eye medicine. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:59:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-23925a43925f4aa9adac1cb816062c09 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2309-608X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:59:41Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Fungi |
| spelling | doaj.art-23925a43925f4aa9adac1cb816062c092023-11-24T00:47:09ZengMDPI AGJournal of Fungi2309-608X2022-10-01810104710.3390/jof8101047The Case for Fungal Keratitis to Be Accepted as a Neglected Tropical DiseaseLottie Brown0Guyguy Kamwiziku1Rita O. Oladele2Matthew J. Burton3N. Venkatesh Prajna4Thomas M. Leitman5David W. Denning6Manchester Fungal Infection Group, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UKKinshasa University Hospital, M8R4+CF3, Kinshasa P.O. Box 8842, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos 101017, NigeriaInternational Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UKAravind Eye Hospitals and Postgraduate Institute of Ophthalmology, Madurai 625020, Tamil Nadu, IndiaDepartments of Ophthalmology, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USAManchester Fungal Infection Group, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UKAmongst the treatable cause of blindness among young people, fungal keratitis ranks high. There are an estimated 1,051,787 to 1,480,916 eyes affected annually, with 8–11% of patients having to have the eye removed. Diagnosis requires a corneal scraping, direct microscopy and fungal culture with a large number of airborne fungi implicated. Treatment involves the intensive application of antifungal eye drops, preferably natamycin, often combined with surgery. In low-resource settings, inappropriate corticosteroid eye drops, ineffective antibacterial therapy, diagnostic delay or no diagnosis all contribute to poor ocular outcomes with blindness (unilateral or bilateral) common. Modern detailed guidelines on fungal keratitis diagnosis and management are lacking. Here, we argue that fungal keratitis should be included as a neglected tropical disease, which would facilitate greater awareness of the condition, improved diagnostic capability, and access to affordable antifungal eye medicine.https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/8/10/1047fungal keratitisneglected tropical diseasesblindness |
| spellingShingle | Lottie Brown Guyguy Kamwiziku Rita O. Oladele Matthew J. Burton N. Venkatesh Prajna Thomas M. Leitman David W. Denning The Case for Fungal Keratitis to Be Accepted as a Neglected Tropical Disease Journal of Fungi fungal keratitis neglected tropical diseases blindness |
| title | The Case for Fungal Keratitis to Be Accepted as a Neglected Tropical Disease |
| title_full | The Case for Fungal Keratitis to Be Accepted as a Neglected Tropical Disease |
| title_fullStr | The Case for Fungal Keratitis to Be Accepted as a Neglected Tropical Disease |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Case for Fungal Keratitis to Be Accepted as a Neglected Tropical Disease |
| title_short | The Case for Fungal Keratitis to Be Accepted as a Neglected Tropical Disease |
| title_sort | case for fungal keratitis to be accepted as a neglected tropical disease |
| topic | fungal keratitis neglected tropical diseases blindness |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/8/10/1047 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lottiebrown thecaseforfungalkeratitistobeacceptedasaneglectedtropicaldisease AT guyguykamwiziku thecaseforfungalkeratitistobeacceptedasaneglectedtropicaldisease AT ritaooladele thecaseforfungalkeratitistobeacceptedasaneglectedtropicaldisease AT matthewjburton thecaseforfungalkeratitistobeacceptedasaneglectedtropicaldisease AT nvenkateshprajna thecaseforfungalkeratitistobeacceptedasaneglectedtropicaldisease AT thomasmleitman thecaseforfungalkeratitistobeacceptedasaneglectedtropicaldisease AT davidwdenning thecaseforfungalkeratitistobeacceptedasaneglectedtropicaldisease AT lottiebrown caseforfungalkeratitistobeacceptedasaneglectedtropicaldisease AT guyguykamwiziku caseforfungalkeratitistobeacceptedasaneglectedtropicaldisease AT ritaooladele caseforfungalkeratitistobeacceptedasaneglectedtropicaldisease AT matthewjburton caseforfungalkeratitistobeacceptedasaneglectedtropicaldisease AT nvenkateshprajna caseforfungalkeratitistobeacceptedasaneglectedtropicaldisease AT thomasmleitman caseforfungalkeratitistobeacceptedasaneglectedtropicaldisease AT davidwdenning caseforfungalkeratitistobeacceptedasaneglectedtropicaldisease |