Bacteriological studies on trachomatous and normal persons from three areas on Taiwan

A series of eye cultures was obtained in 1961 in three areas on Taiwan from both normal and trachomatous children. About one-half of the cultures were from clinical cases classified as being in one of the various trachomatous stages. The other half were from cases of normal or simple conjunctivitis. Total isolation rates were 36.6% for the trachoma group and 35.2% for the control group. If chronic follicular conjunctivitis and simple conjunctivitis cases were disregarded, that did not affect the ratio of isolations between the two groups. As the temperature and humidity increased from February through May 1961, the percentage of positive isolations increased. It is shown that bacterial conjunctivitis had less than a 1% effect on the clinical manifestation of trachoma on Taiwan and that it was equal between the trachoma and control groups.