Infectious uveitis: a review

Uveitis may be caused by infectious or non-infectious disorders. Although most cases of uveitis are considered to be immune-mediated disorders, certain forms of uveitis are caused by infectious agents. The disease may become latent, smoldering and chronic and may mimic other causes of auto-immune uveitis. While auto-immune or immune-mediated disorders causing uveitis respond to steroids or immunosuppressive therapy, such treatment may prove to be devastating in certain infectious diseases causing uveitis. It is, therefore, highly desirable to identify cases of chronic uveitis caused by infectious diseases in order to initiate specific and appropriate antimicrobial therapy. The diagnosis of infectious uveitis can be established in most cases based on age and sex of the individual, mode of onset the morphology of the lesion, the laterality, and the association with other systemic infectious diseases. Laboratory tests in these disorders and imaging techniques are used to refine the diagnosis. In this review, bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections leading to uveitis are discussed. Clinical findings, laboratory diagnosis and management are elucidated.