Experts warn of lack of effective eye infection treatments

Thursday, 25 June 2009

Eye disease experts say that despite recent outbreaks of fungal and bacterial eye infections among contact lens wearers, there is still a lack of effective treatments for serious infections of the cornea. Experts say that despite recalls of the specific contact lens solutions linked to these outbreaks, many lens wearers are still at risk of serious eye damage due to infection. In April 2006, Bausch & Lomb issued a recall for its ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution after it was linked to an outbreak of the fungal eye infection Fusarium keratitis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed numerous cases of Fusarium infections linked to ReNu with MoistureLoc, including cases where the infection caused serious or permanent damage to the cornea. The following May, Advanced Medical Optics recalled its AMO Complete Moisture Plus Multi-Purpose solution after it was linked to an outbreak of a type of parasitic eye infection known as Acanthamoeba keratitis. Of the numerous confirmed cases identified by the CDC, experts estimated that more than one-third of patients would require a cornea transplant as a result of damage to their eyesight. Experts say that despite these contact lens solution recalls, lens wearers are still at risk of serious eye infections. Current treatments for bacterial or fungal eye infections are not completely effective at killing these organisms, they say, and lens wearers are still at an increased risk of serious eye damage.