[Ocular manifestations associated with vitamin A deficiency in a rural area of Burkina Faso].

Vitamin A deficiency can cause nyctalopia, hemeralopia, xerophthalmia, and even blindness. Studies have demonstrated the extent of this problem in various regions of Burkina Faso but extrapolation of these findings to other countries is difficult because of methodological problems. In the initial phase of study, signs of hemeralopia were noted in 14 of 466 children between the ages of 6 and 14, indicating an incidence of 3 p. 100 in this age group. In the second phase, examination of 281 subjects of all ages from 30 randomly selected families in the same village indicated that the incidence of hemeralopia was 3.9 p. 100 (6 p. 100 in children between 2 and 5 years old). Clinical examination demonstrated evidence of xerophthalmia in 7 p. 100 of subjects. The incidence fell to 50 p. 100 after the mango season and to 0 p. 100 after administration of 200,000 IU of vitamin A. Of the 8 cases of blindness observed in this study, 5 were due to onchocerciasis and 2 to vitamin A deficiency. These findings document the role of vitamin A deficiency in the occurrence of severe ocular manifestations in Burkina Faso and underline the need for preventive action.