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Recent advances on mycotic keratitis caused by dematiaceous hyphomycetes
Author(s) -
Rai M.,
Ingle A.P.,
Ingle P.,
Gupta I.,
Mobin M.,
Bonifaz A.,
Alves M.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 1364-5072
DOI - 10.1111/jam.15008
Subject(s) - hyphomycetes , keratitis , fungal keratitis , biology , blindness , dermatology , medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , intensive care medicine , optometry , ecology
Abstract Dematiaceous hyphomycetes (DH) are darkly pigmented fungi ubiquitously found all over the world as plant pathogens and saprophytes, and many of the members of this group have emerged as opportunistic pathogens. These fungi are responsible for a wide variety of infections including mycotic keratitis, which is considered as one of the major causes of corneal blindness, particularly in tropical and subtropical countries with an annual global burden of about 1 000 000 patients. The infection is more common in workers working in an outdoor environment. Moreover, trauma is found to be the most important predisposing cause of mycotic keratitis. Considerable delay in diagnosis and scarcity of effective pharmacological drugs are the major factors responsible for increased morbidity and visual impairment. Considering the crucial role of DH in mycotic keratitis, in the present review, we have focused on major DH with special emphasis on their pathogenicity, diagnosis and treatment strategies.