Ocular manifestations in children with HIV infection in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

A study of ocular lesions among 62 HIV seropositive and 47 HIV seronegative children admitted to the paediatric ward of Muhimbili Medical Centre was conducted. The prevalence of ocular manifestations was 38 per cent among the HIV seropositive children and 25 per cent among HIV seronegative children. While conjunctival lesions were common in both groups, fundus and corneal lesions were more common in HIV seropositive children.

Epidemic optic neuropathy in primary school children in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Background: An epidemic of bilateral optic neuropathy is affecting large numbers of people aged between 10 and 40 in Dar es Salaam, the capital city of Tanzania. The disease is characterised by acute onset of bilateral visual impairment, bilateral impairment of colour vision, and a characteristic temporal pallor of the optic discs. The disease often occurs in association with peripheral neuropathy and sensorineural hearing loss.

An epidemic of optic neuropathy in Tanzania: characterization of the visual disorder and associated peripheral neuropathy.

An epidemic of subacute bilateral visual failure has affected large numbers of teenagers and young adult Africans in coastal Tanzania since 1988. Previous work had indicated that many patients had sensory symptoms, but the nature of the neurological involvement was uncertain. The primary objective of this study was to characterize the accompanying neurological disorder.

Chronic cyanide poisoning in relation to blindness and tropical neuropathy.

Within a group of 20 patients showing optic atrophy and macula degeneration, 14 patients could be examined for neurological and audiometric defects. In 6 patients neurological signs and symptoms were observed. Nine patients reported loss of hearing and in 3 of them a severe perceptive deafness was seen in the audiogram.