Chlamydial and gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum in The Gambia

Swabs were taken for isolation of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae from 112 infants with ophthalmia neonatorum attending a hospital in The Gambia. C. trachomatis was isolated from 37 (33%) and N. gonorrhoeae from 28 (25%), with both organisms being present in three cases (3%). A prospective study of 335 neonates was also undertaken in a Gambian town. Fifty-five infants (16%) showed clinical evidence of ophthalmia neonatorum. C. trachomatis was isolated from nine of these (16%) and N. gonorrhoeae from seven (13%).