Conjunctival microbial flora in leprosy.

Conjunctival sacs of seventy one leprosy patients, paramedical and medical personnel working in a leprosy home were cultured. None of these eyes had any pathology in the outer eye. Surprisingly, 46.2% of the eyes which showed a positive culture carried accepted pathogens; Staphylococcus aureus being the commonest. Determining the preoperative bacterial flora and their elimination before undertaking intraocular surgery is recommended.