Ophthalmic Disease Caused by a Mycete of the Giant Cane.

THE determining factors of the disease are the giant cane (Arundo donax) and the mycete Acremonium. The giant cane belongs to the family Gramineae, which is to be found all over the earth. The full-grown stem, dried and stripped of its blade-like leaves, is used for weaving baskets and for building huts. In agriculture and horticulture it is used to make props for vines, garden plants, and transplanted trees, as well as for building fences. The mycete Acremonium, isolated during mycetological examinations, has been classified as follows: Class, deuteromycetae or fungi imperfecti; Order, Moniliales; Family, Monilialeae; Genus, Acremonium. The first to study this mycete was Vuillemin (1931), who in 1911 had described the species Acremonium potronii as consisting of a mycetelium with sparse bifurcations and vertical sporophorous branches ending in a simple conidium. Link (1809), Dodge (1936), and Brumpt (1949) mentioned the genus. Ciferri (1960) reported that it might possibly be pathogenic in man and that it was also found on the conjunctiva. However, when this is so the greatest care and closest examination are required in order to exclude any other pathogenic causes if the damage is to be ascribed with certainty to the mycete Acremonium. The latter may also have allergenic properties.