Uveitis may be caused by infectious or non-infectious disorders. Although most cases of
uveitis are considered to be immune-mediated disorders, certain forms of
uveitis are caused by infectious agents. The disease may become latent, smoldering and chronic and may mimic other causes of auto-immune
uveitis. While auto-immune or immune-mediated disorders causing
uveitis respond to
steroids or immunosuppressive therapy, such treatment may prove to be devastating in certain
infectious diseases causing
uveitis. It is, therefore, highly desirable to identify cases of chronic
uveitis caused by
infectious diseases in order to initiate specific and appropriate antimicrobial
therapy. The diagnosis of infectious
uveitis can be established in most cases based on age and sex of the individual, mode of onset the morphology of the lesion, the laterality, and the association with other systemic
infectious diseases. Laboratory tests in these disorders and imaging techniques are used to refine the diagnosis. In this review, bacterial, fungal and
parasitic infections leading to
uveitis are discussed. Clinical findings, laboratory diagnosis and management are elucidated.