The Etiology and Antibiogram of Bacterial Causes of Conjunctivitis among Patients Attending the Eye Clinic at Rugarama Hospital in South Western Uganda

Background: Bacterial Conjunctivitis is a common eye condition that causes discomfort and is very irritating. It is a common condition in children and adults and can be caused by various bacterial agents.

Objective: To determine the prevalence, the common bacterial causes of conjunctivitis and their sensitivity to antimicrobial agents at the eye clinic of Rugarama Hospital, Kabale.

Materials and Methods: All specimens were obtained during routine checkups and outreach programmes in April, 2013. The isolates were obtained after inoculation of the specimens onto blood, chocolate and MacConkey agar plates, incubated at 370C for 18-24 hours under aerobic conditions except for chocolate agar plates which were kept in candle extinction jar. The isolates were identified using a combination of colony morphology, biochemical and / or serological tests. Antibiotic sensitivity testing was performed using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method.

Results: One hundred ninety six conjunctival swabs were cultured of which 87 grew bacteria, giving a prevalence rate of 44.4%. Fifty eight of the positive samples were from males and 29 were from females. The age range was from 1 year to 85 years with majority above 40 years. Women were two times more affected than men. The isolated organisms included Staphylococcus aureus 85.1% and Neisseria gonorrhoea 14.9%. Most of the isolates were sensitive to gentamicin, tetracycline and ciprofloxacin while penicillin/oxacillin and chloramphenicol had the least bacterial coverage.

Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of bacterial conjunctivitis at the eye clinic of Rugarama Hospital with the commonest causes being S. aureus and N. gonorrhoeae. Ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, tetracycline can be used for empirical therapy of bacterial of conjunctivitis but not chloramphenicol and penicillin/oxacillin.