The cornea in measles

The involvement of the cornea in the acute stage of measles is the subject of the present study. The best study on the measles-keratitis now available is still the one by Trantas in 1903. It seems wo.:thwhile therefore to study this self-limiting keratitis with the investigative tools now available. The attention paid to this keratitis is above all warranted by the possible occurrence of blinding complications: the existence of Post-Measles-Blindness (1% in developing countries) is the incentive for this study. It is hoped that by the study of the early corneal signs of measles, some data relevant for the pathogenesis of PMB can be obtained, which hopefully might have implications for the prevention of PMB. In the background of every infection, the nutritional status of the child is the most important, not to say the decisive factor for the final outcome of the disease. It is even said that "a connnunity is malnourished so long as children die of measles" (King et al. 1972). In the literature PMB is also invariably connected with Protein Energy Malnutrition (P.E.M.)(Rodger 1959; Oomen, McLaren and Escapini 1964). Complications are associated with PEM, but the possibility exists that also the severity of physical signs is influenced by the nutritional status (O'Donovan 1971; Dossetor, Whittle and Greenwood 1977). In this study much attention is therefore given to the possible association of corneal disease with the nutritional status