Spiroplasma species as a rare cause of congenital cataract and uveitis: a case series

Background To date, only four cases of ocular spiroplasma infection have been reported in the entire ophthalmic literature. We add two more cases to raise awareness of this sight-threatening congenital disease that manifests as cataract with ocular inflammation. Case presentation Both infants were referred for cataracts associated with ocular inflammation. Case 1, a 3-week-old neonate presented with unilateral cataract, ocular inflammation and elevated intraocular pressure. Case 2 was a 3-month-old infant with bilateral cataract and panuveitis. Lensectomies with or without vitrectomy and subsequent analyses of the specimens were performed. Transmission electron microscopy and multiplex polymerase chain reaction or 16 s rRNA gene polymerase chain reaction revealed spiroplasma species. Conclusions Spiroplasma as a very rare cause for congenital cataract might be underdiagnosed. We recommend performing polymerase chain reaction to probe for spiroplasma species in congenital cataracts with an inflammatory component.