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खुला एक्सेस

अमूर्त

Epidemiology of Fungal Keratitis in North Vietnam

Pham Hong Nhung, Tran Anh Thu, Le Hong Ngoc, Kiyofumi Ohkusu and Takayuki Ezaki

The epidemiological characteristics and the causative agents of fungal keratitis at the National Ophthalmology hospital, the biggest eye care hospital in North Vietnam were described by using questionnaire and analyzing of ITS region sequences. In 2008, 687 fungal keratitis patients were diagnosed and 363 fungal strains were isolated from these patients. The predominant fungal species isolated was Fusarium spp. (39.6%), followed by Aspergillus spp. (25.9%). No yeast species was isolated. A large proportion of the patients was in the middle decades of life (41-60 years; 51.8%) and worked as farmers in rice fields. Corneal ulceration most often occurred after a superficial corneal injury with organic materials. Medical treatment, especially antibiotic use, were started on 551 (80.1%) of the 687 patients. The study findings have important public health implications for treatment and prevention of fungal keratitis in Vietnam.