Which genus is associated with angular blepharoconjunctivitis?

Which genus is associated with angular blepharoconjunctivitis?

• A. Moraxella
• B. Haemophilus influenzae
• C. Neisseria gonorrhoeae
• D. Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Answer: (A)

Angular blepharoconjunctivitis is most characteristically caused by Moraxella lacunata, a Gram-negative diplobacillus historically described as Morax-Axenfeld diplobacilli. This organism tends to colonize the eyelid margins and can spread to the conjunctiva, producing chronic inflammation with crusting at the canthi and lid margin—hallmarks of angular disease. In the lab, you’d expect to see Gram-negative rods arranged in pairs on ocular scrapings, and Moraxella species are oxidase-positive, helping distinguish them from other ocular pathogens. Haemophilus influenzae can cause conjunctivitis but isn’t specifically linked to the angular blepharoconjunctivitis pattern. Neisseria gonorrhoeae causes a hyperacute, severely purulent conjunctivitis with possible rapid corneal involvement. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is more associated with contact lens–related keratitis and acute conjunctivitis rather than the angular lid-margin disease. So the genus most closely tied to this presentation is Moraxella.

Angular blepharoconjunctivitis is most characteristically caused by Moraxella lacunata, a Gram-negative diplobacillus historically described as Morax-Axenfeld diplobacilli. This organism tends to colonize the eyelid margins and can spread to the conjunctiva, producing chronic inflammation with crusting at the canthi and lid margin—hallmarks of angular disease. In the lab, you’d expect to see Gram-negative rods arranged in pairs on ocular scrapings, and Moraxella species are oxidase-positive, helping distinguish them from other ocular pathogens.

Haemophilus influenzae can cause conjunctivitis but isn’t specifically linked to the angular blepharoconjunctivitis pattern. Neisseria gonorrhoeae causes a hyperacute, severely purulent conjunctivitis with possible rapid corneal involvement. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is more associated with contact lens–related keratitis and acute conjunctivitis rather than the angular lid-margin disease. So the genus most closely tied to this presentation is Moraxella.