MODEL RELEASED. Bacterial conjunctivitis. Close-up of the left eye of a 48-year-old man who is HIV positive and has bacterial conjunctivitis. Conjunctivitis is inflammation of the conjunctiva, the membrane covering the white of the eye. Treatment is by avoiding the cause and treatment with antihistamines. In this case, the cause is a bacterial infection with Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Patients with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) can develop AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) and become immunosuppressed, leaving them open to secondary infections.