ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to determine the most common type of pathogen causing conjunctivitis. Out of 495 patients who referred to the Zahedan Eye Clinic from May 11,1991 to October 22,1992,296 cases were diagnosed as nonbacterial conjunctivitis. From the remaining number of cases, two patients had chlamydia and six patients had Candida albicans, while the frequency of bacterial infection was as follows: N. gonorrhoeae 7 patients, Hemophilus aegyptius in 11 patients, Moraxella lacunata in 6 patients, Streptococcus pneumoniae in 57 patients, E. coli in 5 patients, Staphylococcus aureus in 5 patients, Proteus mirabilis in 5 patients, Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 8 patients, Gardnerella voginalis in 4 patients, and providencia species in one patient. Bacterial agents were isolated by Gram staining and culturing, In conclusion our results show that the most common cause of conjunctivitis is nonbacterial, but the most common cause of bacterial conjunctivitis is S pneumoniae. Furthermore, our incidence of chlamydia and N. gonorrhoeae was also more than that in the literature