Bausch & Lomb will not suspend ReNu sales in Malaysia

Saturday, 25 February 2006

Bausch & Lomb has announced that it will not suspend sales of its ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution in Malaysia. The company’s decision not to suspend sales or issue a ReNu recall comes despite an outbreak of the fungal infection Fusarium keratitis in Singapore and Hong Kong among ReNu users. Health officials in Hong Kong notified Bausch & Lomb in November 2005 of a possible link between ReNu and an increased number of Fusarium infections. Twelve ReNu users in Hong Kong and an additional 22 contact lens wearers in Singapore have been diagnosed with Fusarium infections so far. Fusarium keratitis is a serious infection of the cornea that can cause severe eye pain, blurred vision, scarring and, in the most serious cases, blindness. Singapore’s Health Ministry has advised contact lens wearers to stop using ReNu due to the potential risk of infection. A spokesman for Bausch & Lomb says its decision not to suspend sales or issue a ReNu recall in Malaysia is based on the lack of any known cases of Fusarium keratitis among ReNu users there. Several opticians in Singapore have already chosen to voluntarily remove ReNu with MoistureLoc from their shelves after learning of its potential risks. One store manager in Brunei also noted that most of the ReNu bottles sold at his shop had come from Malaysia.