Ecological distribution of Fusarium solani and its opportunistic action related to mycotic keratitis in Cali, Colombia

Abstract

Corneal ulcera in patients treated at the University Hospital Cali, Colombia have been attributed to the fungus Fusarium solani, which was isolated from patients' eyes by deep scraping. The fungus, which was characterized by culture and morphology, was found to grow well at 37 degrees C in Sabouraud and potato dextrose agars and in liquid asparagine medium, in which it produced very few spores; at 40 degrees C, it survived for 3 weeks. Different levels of pathogenicity were shown by the fungus when 3-week-old bean, corn, and tomato plants were inoculated. Controlled experiments in which an inoculum of F. solani was instilled in rabbit eyes were also carried out; it evoked a clinical reaction producing irritation and erythema. The F. solani isolated from eyes was the same species as that isolated by an agar plate method with Fusarium-selective medium from sugar cane, bean, tomato, or corn fields throughout December 1976 to November 1977. Nonfarming areas and urban sites were also air sampled, but only a few (less than 1%) colonies of F. solani were isolated at one of four sites. A preliminary attempt to identify the physiologically active substance of the fungus was carried out through chemical extraction, thin-layer chromatography, and ultraviolet and infrared spectra analysis.