Aims/background-To determine the epidemiological characteristics and risk factors predisposing to corneal ulceration in Madurai, south India, and to identify the specific pathogenic organisms responsible for infection. Methods-All patients with suspected infectious central corneal ulceration presenting to the ocular microbiology and cornea service at Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, from 1 January to 31 March 1994 were evaluated. Sociodemographic data and information pertaining to risk factors were recorded, all patients were examined, and corneal cultures and scrapings were performed. Conclusions-Central corneal ulceration is a common problem in south India and most often occurs after a superficial corneal injury with organic material. Bacterial and fungal infections occur in equal numbers with Streptococcus pneumoniae accounting for the majority of bacterial ulcers and Fusarium spp responsible for most of the fungal infections. These findings have important public health implications for the treatment and prevention of corneal ulceration in the developing world. (Br J Ophthalmol 1997;81:965-971) Central corneal ulceration is a major cause of monocular blindness in developing countries. Surveys in Africa and Asia have confirmed this finding, 1-6 and a recent report on the causes of blindness worldwide consistently lists corneal scarring second only to cataract as the major aetiology of blindness and visual disability in many of the developing nations in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Results-In

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Corneal ulceration is a common occurrence in South India. While the true incidence of this problem is impossible to determine because of the lack of medical records, we believe our estimation of the incidence to be close to the true incidence in this community.