Flaxman SR et al., 2017. Global causes of blindness and distance vision impairment 1990–2020: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Glob Health 5: e1221–e1234.
Gonzales CA , Srinivasan M , Whitcher JP , Smolin G , 1996. Incidence of corneal ulceration in Madurai District, South India. Ophthalmic Epidemiol 3: 159–166.
Erie JC , Nevitt MP , Hodge DO , Ballard DJ , 1993. Incidence of ulcerative keratitis in a defined population from 1950 through 1988. Arch Ophthalmol 111: 1665–1671.
Visual Crossing , 2023. Weather Query Builder. Available at: https://www.visualcrossing.com/weather/weather-data-services/Hanoi,Vietnam/metric/2010-06-30/2013-12-31. Accessed September 7, 2023.
Molinaro A , DeFalco F , 2022. Empirical assessment of alternative methods for identifying seasonality in observational healthcare data. BMC Med Res Methodol 22: 182.
Pham HN , Tran AT , Le HN , Ohkusu K , Ezaki T , 2012. Epidemiology of fungal keratitis in North Vietnam. J Clin Exp Ophthalmol 3: 1–5.
Xie L , Zhong W , Shi W , Sun S , 2006. Spectrum of fungal keratitis in North China. Ophthalmology 113: 1943–1948.
Lin CC , Lalitha P , Srinivasan M , Prajna NV , McLeod SD , Acharya NR , Lietman TM , Porco TC , 2012. Seasonal trends of microbial keratitis in South India. Cornea 31: 1123–1127.
Gopinathan U , Garg P , Fernandes M , Sharma S , Athmanathan S , Rao GN , 2002. The epidemiological features and laboratory results of fungal keratitis: a 10-year review at a referral eye care center in South India. Cornea 21: 555–559.
Dong PN , Hang DTT , Duong NTN , Lien MT , Chen AC , Aldave AJ , 2022. Infectious keratitis in Vietnam: etiology, organisms, and management at Vietnam National Eye Hospital. Int J Ophthalmol 15: 128–134.
Vietnamese Rice Knowledge Bank , 2023. Ngân Hà ng Kiến Thức Trồng Lúa. Available at: https://vaas.vn/kienthuc/Caylua/01/12_vungdbsonghong.htm. Accessed September 7, 2023.
Phan LTK , Tran TM , Audenaert K , Jacxsens L , Eeckhout M , 2021. Contamination of Fusarium proliferatum and Aspergillus flavus in the rice chain linked to crop seasons, cultivation regions, and traditional agricultural practices in Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Foods 10: 2064.
Green M , Apel A , Stapleton F , 2008. A longitudinal study of trends in keratitis in Australia. Cornea 27: 33–39.
Loh RS , Chan CML , Ti SE , Lim L , Chan KS , Tan DTH , 2009. Emerging prevalence of microsporidial keratitis in Singapore: epidemiology, clinical features, and management. Ophthalmology 116: 2348–2353.
Das S , Sharma S , Sahu SK , Nayak SS , Kar S , 2012. Diagnosis, clinical features and treatment outcome of microsporidial keratoconjunctivitis. Br J Ophthalmol 96: 793–795.
Dong P , Tue D , Thu T , 2015. Microsporidia: the pathogen of stromal keratitis was firstly discovered in Vietnam. J Mil Pharmaco Med 174–179.
Bhosale NK , Ganesan N , 2015. Microsporidial keratitis. J Bacteriol Parasitol 6: 248.
Sengupta J , Saha S , Khetan A , Pal D , Gangopadhyay N , Banerjee D , 2011. Characteristics of microsporidial keratoconjunctivitis in an eastern Indian cohort: a case series. Indian J Pathol Microbiol 54: 565–568.
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The epidemiology of corneal ulcers in Vietnam has not been well characterized. In this report, we reviewed retrospectively the microbiological data of patients with a clinical diagnosis of corneal ulcer at the microbiology laboratory of Vietnam National Eye Hospital from January 1, 2010 to March 31, 2023. We observed a seasonal pattern for fungal and microsporidial keratitis, with an annual peak in November, and an inverse relationship between fungal keratitis and inclement weather. The November peak coincided with one of the major harvesting seasons in Vietnam. We also observed increasing numbers of microsporidial and Acanthamoeba keratitis cases in recent years. Knowledge of these trends are helpful in guiding empirical treatment of corneal infections and preventing corneal blindness.
Financial support: This work was supported by the Fogarty International Center of the
Disclosure: The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH or the University of California Global Health Institute.
Disclosure: Ethical approval was obtained from the Vietnam National Eye Hospital and from the University of California, San Francisco.
Authors’ addresses: Binh Cao, Francis I Proctor Foundation, University of California, San Francisco, CA, E-mail: binh.cao@ucsf.edu. Chi Hoang Viet Vu, Cung Le Xuan, Tuan Hoang Anh, Dong Pham Ngoc, and Hiep Nguyen Xuan, Vietnam National Eye Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam, E-mails: hoangvietchi@gmail.com, cungvienmat@gmail.com, anhtuanbvm@gmail.com, dongpn69@gmail.com, and nguyenxuanhiepvnio@gmail.com. John P. Whitcher and Jeremy D. Keenan, Francis I Proctor Foundation, University of California, San Francisco, CA, and Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, E-mails: jack.whitcher@ucsf.edu and jeremy.keenan@ucsf.edu.
Flaxman SR et al., 2017. Global causes of blindness and distance vision impairment 1990–2020: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Glob Health 5: e1221–e1234.
Gonzales CA , Srinivasan M , Whitcher JP , Smolin G , 1996. Incidence of corneal ulceration in Madurai District, South India. Ophthalmic Epidemiol 3: 159–166.
Erie JC , Nevitt MP , Hodge DO , Ballard DJ , 1993. Incidence of ulcerative keratitis in a defined population from 1950 through 1988. Arch Ophthalmol 111: 1665–1671.
Visual Crossing , 2023. Weather Query Builder. Available at: https://www.visualcrossing.com/weather/weather-data-services/Hanoi,Vietnam/metric/2010-06-30/2013-12-31. Accessed September 7, 2023.
Molinaro A , DeFalco F , 2022. Empirical assessment of alternative methods for identifying seasonality in observational healthcare data. BMC Med Res Methodol 22: 182.
Pham HN , Tran AT , Le HN , Ohkusu K , Ezaki T , 2012. Epidemiology of fungal keratitis in North Vietnam. J Clin Exp Ophthalmol 3: 1–5.
Xie L , Zhong W , Shi W , Sun S , 2006. Spectrum of fungal keratitis in North China. Ophthalmology 113: 1943–1948.
Lin CC , Lalitha P , Srinivasan M , Prajna NV , McLeod SD , Acharya NR , Lietman TM , Porco TC , 2012. Seasonal trends of microbial keratitis in South India. Cornea 31: 1123–1127.
Gopinathan U , Garg P , Fernandes M , Sharma S , Athmanathan S , Rao GN , 2002. The epidemiological features and laboratory results of fungal keratitis: a 10-year review at a referral eye care center in South India. Cornea 21: 555–559.
Dong PN , Hang DTT , Duong NTN , Lien MT , Chen AC , Aldave AJ , 2022. Infectious keratitis in Vietnam: etiology, organisms, and management at Vietnam National Eye Hospital. Int J Ophthalmol 15: 128–134.
Vietnamese Rice Knowledge Bank , 2023. Ngân Hà ng Kiến Thức Trồng Lúa. Available at: https://vaas.vn/kienthuc/Caylua/01/12_vungdbsonghong.htm. Accessed September 7, 2023.
Phan LTK , Tran TM , Audenaert K , Jacxsens L , Eeckhout M , 2021. Contamination of Fusarium proliferatum and Aspergillus flavus in the rice chain linked to crop seasons, cultivation regions, and traditional agricultural practices in Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Foods 10: 2064.
Green M , Apel A , Stapleton F , 2008. A longitudinal study of trends in keratitis in Australia. Cornea 27: 33–39.
Loh RS , Chan CML , Ti SE , Lim L , Chan KS , Tan DTH , 2009. Emerging prevalence of microsporidial keratitis in Singapore: epidemiology, clinical features, and management. Ophthalmology 116: 2348–2353.
Das S , Sharma S , Sahu SK , Nayak SS , Kar S , 2012. Diagnosis, clinical features and treatment outcome of microsporidial keratoconjunctivitis. Br J Ophthalmol 96: 793–795.
Dong P , Tue D , Thu T , 2015. Microsporidia: the pathogen of stromal keratitis was firstly discovered in Vietnam. J Mil Pharmaco Med 174–179.
Bhosale NK , Ganesan N , 2015. Microsporidial keratitis. J Bacteriol Parasitol 6: 248.
Sengupta J , Saha S , Khetan A , Pal D , Gangopadhyay N , Banerjee D , 2011. Characteristics of microsporidial keratoconjunctivitis in an eastern Indian cohort: a case series. Indian J Pathol Microbiol 54: 565–568.
Past two years | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 1080 | 1080 | 158 |
Full Text Views | 176 | 176 | 4 |
PDF Downloads | 119 | 119 | 5 |