Step 1: The keyword to anchor on is the disc shape of the stromal reaction. Among ocular infections, the one famous for a round disc of stromal swelling is herpes simplex, so the search narrows immediately to HSV.
Step 2: Mechanistically this is not a destructive ulcer but an antibody and cell mediated hypersensitivity to viral protein lodged in the stroma after a previous epithelial dendritic infection. That immune basis is why steroids form part of management, always under antiviral cover.
Step 3: Supporting bedside clues include reduced corneal sensation, keratic precipitates, and an associated anterior chamber reaction, all of which point to herpetic origin and away from a purely bacterial or systemic viral cause.
Step 4: Eliminating the rest, HIV and hepatitis B virus are bloodborne systemic agents without a disciform corneal lesion, and rubella manifests in the eye as congenital cataract and salt and pepper retinopathy. Thus only herpes simplex fits.
\[\boxed{\text{HSV}}\]