rifampin and Conjunctivitis--Bacterial

Mycobacterium genavense infection was diagnosed in an adult ferret with ptosis of the left eye, a proliferative lesion of the conjunctiva of the nictitating membrane, conjunctival swelling, and tumefaction of the periorbital tissues with a watery ocular discharge and the presence of a retrobulbar mass. The diagnosis was based on characteristic cytology of the retrobulbar mass and left mandibular lymph node that revealed granulomatous inflammation. Ziehl-Neelsen staining showed the presence of positive acid-fast bacilli in the cytoplasm of the macrophages. The diagnosis was confirmed by sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene amplified by using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction from a fresh lymph node biopsy. Therapy with marbofloxacin, rifampicin, and clarithromycin was recommended for 6 months and after this period, the veterinarian who was treating the ferret reported the disappearance of clinical signs. Six months after the end of the antibiotic treatment, the symptoms described previously reoccurred. Confirmatory laboratory tests were not performed but a recurrence of M genavense infection was suspected and the veterinarian, in agreement with the owner, euthanized the ferret.

Topics: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Clarithromycin; Conjunctivitis, Bacterial; Female; Ferrets; Fluoroquinolones; Mycobacterium; Mycobacterium Infections; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Rifampin; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S

To report a case of tuberculosis of the conjunctiva.. Case report with pathologic correlation. A 17-year-old man who had relocated to Australia from Liberia presented with chronic unilateral conjunctivitis.. The diagnosis was not initially evident, despite 2 separate biopsy specimens, conjunctival cultures, and polymerase chain reaction testing. Definitive diagnosis was made after repeated histologic examination. Antituberculous treatment resulted in prompt resolution of all ocular signs.. Tuberculous conjunctivitis is now a very rare condition in the developed world. Definitive diagnosis requires the identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis organisms in conjunctival biopsy specimens-either through microscopic detection of acid-fast bacilli or more sensitive culture techniques.

Topics: Adolescent; Antitubercular Agents; Chronic Disease; Conjunctivitis, Bacterial; Drug Therapy, Combination; Ethambutol; Humans; Isoniazid; Male; Pyrazinamide; Rifampin; Tuberculosis, Ocular

Neisseria meningitidis is an uncommon cause of acute bacterial conjunctivitis. One case of primary meningococcal conjunctivitis in a healthy 6-year-old boy is reported. The patient was initially treated with a topical instillation of polymyxin B, neomycin and gramicidin in ophthalmic solution, and this was followed by systemic rifampin once the diagnosis had been established. No ocular or systemic complications developed.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Administration, Topical; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Child; Conjunctivitis, Bacterial; Gramicidin; Humans; Male; Meningococcal Infections; Neisseria meningitidis; Neomycin; Polymyxin B; Rifampin

Mycobacterium genavense infection was diagnosed in two adult ferrets. Disseminated mycobacteriosis was diagnosed in a castrated 5-year-old sable ferret with generalised peripheral lymph node enlargement and a proliferative lesion of the conjunctiva of the nictitating membrane. The diagnosis was based on characteristic cytology and sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene amplified using the polymerase chain reaction from fresh biopsy material. Therapy with rifampicin, clofazimine and clarithromycin probably cured the infection. An entire 4-year-old female ferret with conjunctival swelling, serous ocular discharge and swelling of the subcutaneous tissues of the nasal bridge was diagnosed as having M genavense infection on the basis of typical cytology, histopathology and sequence analysis of 16S rRNA amplicons from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. This patient was treated successfully using rifampicin. Both ferrets subsequently died as a result of other disease conditions, 10 and 4 months following initiation of therapy, respectively. This is the first report documenting M genavense as a cause of disseminated mycobacterial disease in ferrets. Conjunctival involvement may be a feature of disseminated mycobacteriosis in the ferret. The possibility that these infections were the consequence of a ferret retrovirus infection should be considered further.

Topics: Animals; Clarithromycin; Clofazimine; Conjunctivitis, Bacterial; Diagnosis, Differential; DNA Primers; Drug Therapy, Combination; Fatal Outcome; Female; Ferrets; Male; Mycobacterium; Mycobacterium Infections; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Rifampin; RNA, Bacterial

In 1986, an outbreak of Moraxella follicular conjunctivitis occurred in girls attending a Navajo boarding school in New Mexico. We diagnosed 19 cases of culture-proven, and 21 of clinical conjunctivitis based on isolation of Moraxella from conjunctival cultures and the occurrence of symptoms significantly associated with positive culture. Sharing eye makeup was significantly associated with Moraxella-positive conjunctivitis (odds ratio [OR] = 7.2, P = .004) and showed a trend toward significance in those with clinical conjunctivitis (OR = 2.9, P = .09). Eyeliner and eye shadow were implicated (OR = 4.1, P less than .05). We cultured samples of 13 students' makeup; one third of the eyeliners were positive for Moraxella. Nasal carriage of Moraxella was found in 35 (44%) of the 79 female boarders and in 20 (21%) of 97 Navajo patients at two nearby clinics. In a prospective evaluation of the effect of patient education and rifampin therapy on the occurrence of conjunctivitis during an 11-month follow-up period, both types of intervention were successful in significantly reducing the rate of conjunctivitis when compared with that in a control group.

Topics: Adolescent; Bacterial Infections; Conjunctiva; Conjunctivitis, Bacterial; Cosmetics; Disease Outbreaks; Female; Humans; Indians, North American; Male; Moraxella; New Mexico; Nose; Patient Education as Topic; Prospective Studies; Rifampin; Risk Factors