Introduction

Diseases of cornea are a major cause of blindness, second only to cataract resulting in more than 1.5 million new cases of vision loss annually. In India, it is estimated that there are approximately 6.8 million people who have vision less than 6/60 in atleast one eye due to corneal diseases; of these, about a million have bilateral involvement^.(1,2)

The burden of corneal disease in our country is reflected by the fact that 90% of the global cases of ocular trauma and corneal ulceration leading to corneal blindness occur in developing countries. ⁽⁵⁾

Treatable or avoidable blindness can be tackled by an effective and accessible health care service delivery network. In cases of corneal ulceration sight can be restored with timely and prompt management.

Fungal Keratitis

Fungal keratitis was described by Leber in 1879. It can be caused by several species of fungi and also accounts for nearly 50% of all cases of infectious keratitis in developing countries and tropical regions. ^(6,7) 

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Swapnil Singh

Junior Resident 3, Upgraded Department of Ophthalmology, LLRMC, Meerut, U.P., INDIA - 250004