Seasonal hyperacute panuveitis of unknown etiology

A severe form of unilateral uveitis, which in most cases leads to blindness within hours of its onset, has been seen in Nepal since 1975. This disease appears with the onset of autumn in early September and lasts until the end of December in two-year cycles (1975, 1977, 1979). However, some cases occurred in 1980 as well. As expected there was an outbreak of this disease in 1981. Although early cases were seen in patients from Western Nepal, the disease has since been identified in patients from various parts of the country. In one of the outbreaks (1977) in western Nepal some patients or their parents gave a history of a white moth sitting on the child's face or arm prior to the onset of ocular symptoms. Some of these were claimed to be followed by blister formation at the point of contact. These moths were presumed to be responsible for producing this uveitis in those cases. The present report describes the clinical features of the cases seen from the time the disease was first recognized, case histories of four cases seen during the last outbreak, results of laboratory experiments using the aqueous humor of these patients, and the results of experiments using three different varieties of moths.