CONJUNCTIVAL OCULOSPORIDIOSIS IN EAST-AFRICA CAUSED BY RHINOSPORIDIUM-SEEBERI

Background and Objective.-Conjunctival rhinosporidiosis is an infectio us disease rarely recorded outside the Indian subcontinent. The diseas e is caused by Rhinosporidium seeberi, an endosporulating microorganis m of uncertain taxonomic classification. We report a series of cases m anifesting this infection. Material and Methods.-The demographic, clin ical, and histopathologic data of 14 cases of conjunctival rhinosporid iosis on record at our Ophthalmic Pathology Laboratory were reviewed. Results.-All cases were from East Africa; 10 were from Malawi and 4 fr om Kenya. Ten specimens were from males and three from females. Their age ranged from 7 to 20 years. All patients were treated by surgical e xcision, and no recurrence was recorded. None of the cases was diagnos ed clinically as rhinosporidiosis. Histologically, all stages of the o rganism's life cycle could be found in the excised tissue, from small trophocytes to large sporangia-containing sporoblasts. There were chan ges in histochemical stainings with growth and maturation. In general, the inflammation was of chronic nongranulomatous type. Conclusions.-C onjunctival rhinosporidiosis is a rare infectious disease that typical ly appears in young males in rural regions, and that can be treated by surgical excision. It typically causes chronic nongranulomatous infla mmation. Various stages of the R seeberi life cycle can be seen in the affected tissue.