The primary risk factors are
(1) trauma to the eye
(2) exposure to environmental contaminants (soil, water), especially in the tropics.
Clinical findings:
(1) The presence of ulcerative stromal keratitis in a patient who is usually immunocompetent.
(2) The process is resistant to standard antibacterial therapy, with progression to corneal perforation.
Laboratory findings:
(1) microsporidia seen on corneal scrapings, which polarize
(2) organisms may be intracellular, located within a phagocytic vacuole
(3) can be grown in tissue culture (HeLa or canine kidney cells)
(4) demonstrated in fluorescent microscopy with calcofluor white or acridine orange
(5) can be stained using specific antibodies
(6) characteristic appearance on electron microscopy
