{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,11]],"date-time":"2026-02-11T14:22:48Z","timestamp":1770819768631,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":60,"publisher":"American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene","issue":"3","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,5]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT.<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Infectious keratitis is a significant ocular disease that, if left untreated, can lead to blindness. Fungi are among the causative agents that can result in severe symptoms. Keratitis infections are prevalent globally, with a higher incidence reported in tropical and subtropical regions. The current research focused on the molecular diagnosis of fungal keratitis and its prevalence over a 3-year period in northeastern Iran. The study involved the collection of 38 corneal scraping specimens from the Eye Specialized Hospital of Khatam in Mashhad, northeastern Iran. These specimens were cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar, and the isolates were identified using DNA-based techniques. Among the patients studied (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 38), 22 (58%) cases were caused by <jats:italic>Aspergillus<\/jats:italic> species (<jats:italic>A. flavus<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 17, <jats:italic>A. fumigatus<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 3; <jats:italic>A. terreus<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 1; <jats:italic>A. tubingensis<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 1), seven (18%) by <jats:italic>Neocosmospora<\/jats:italic> species (<jats:italic>N. falciformis<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 4; <jats:italic>N. solani<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 3), three (7%) by <jats:italic>Candida albicans<\/jats:italic>, two (5%) by <jats:italic>Fusarium annulatum<\/jats:italic>, and one case each (2%) by <jats:italic>Penicillium chrysogenum<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Cladosporium cladosporioides<\/jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>Cytospora<\/jats:italic> sp. In addition, one case had a combined infection of <jats:italic>A. flavus<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>P. glabrum<\/jats:italic>. The results indicate a higher incidence of fungal keratitis in males, particularly in the age range of 40\u201360 years. <jats:italic>Aspergillus<\/jats:italic> sp., and specifically <jats:italic>A. flavus<\/jats:italic>, had the highest prevalence. <jats:italic>Cladosporium cladosporioides<\/jats:italic> is reported for the first time in this area as causal agent of keratitis. Additionally, this is the first report of keratitis likely caused by <jats:italic>Cytospora<\/jats:italic> species.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.24-0046","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,17]],"date-time":"2024-12-17T17:44:18Z","timestamp":1734457458000},"page":"553-560","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Causative Agents of Fungal Keratitis in Northeastern Iran: A 3-Year Tertiary Care Hospital Study"],"prefix":"10.4269","volume":"112","author":[{"given":"Shaghayegh","family":"Moghadam","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Student Research Committee, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hossein","family":"Zarrinfar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Allergy Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran;"},{"name":"Sinus and Surgical Endoscopic Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ali","family":"Naseri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Javad","family":"Sadeghi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Eye Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mohammad Javad","family":"Najafzadeh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ya Bin","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology, Beijing Children\u2019s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children\u2019s Health, Beijing, China;"},{"name":"Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Utrecht, the Netherlands"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jos","family":"Houbraken","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Utrecht, the Netherlands"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"2795","reference":[{"key":"b1","series-title":"Indian J Med Microbiol","first-page":"310","article-title":"Clinico-demographical profile of keratomycosis in Delhi, North India","volume":"32","author":"Gupta","year":"2014"},{"key":"b2","series-title":"Mycoses","first-page":"916","article-title":"Fungal keratitis: An overview of clinical and laboratory aspects","volume":"61","author":"Mahmoudi","year":"2018"},{"key":"b3","series-title":"Biosci 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