Experimental staphylococcic keratitis.

The human clinical manifestations of staphylococcic infections of the eyelids, conjunctiva, and cornea are discussed. The corneal lesions occurring during the course of staphylococcic infections of the lid develop after the disease has been present in the eyelid for several years, but are not always correlated with the degree of activity. The peripheral infiltrations and ulcerations either are due to hypersensitivity or are a result of some product produced by Staphylococcus aureus. Repeated instillations of staphylococcic antigen and toxin onto the corneas of nonimmunized rabbits failed to produce the superficial epithelial keratitis which is so common in human beings with chronic staphylococcal infections of the lid. Injection of a small challenging dose of staphylococcic antigen into the center of the corneas of rabbits, which had been immunized over a period of time with subcutaneous staphylococcic antigen or toxoid, produced corneal rings resembling those in antigen-antibody reactions of the cornea. The incidence of rings was twice as common in those animals immunized with killed and disrupted staphylococci as in those immunized with toxoid. The ring infiltrations which were produced appeared within 24 to 48 hours, were complete or incomplete, lasted 3 to 5 days, and gradually disappeared without scarring. A second ring developed in a few animals. Intracorneal injection of similar doses of toxoid into another series of similarly immunized animals failed to produce ring infiltrations.