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Contact Lens Solution Linked to Eye Infections

"Complete MoisturePlus" Recalled After Study Finds Rising Infection Rate

By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.com

May 27, 2007

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Federal health officials are warning that a contact lens solution made by Advanced Medical Optics -- "Complete MoisturePlus" -- has been linked to a rare but serious eye infection that can cause blindness.

It's the second scare linked to the product in less than a year.

The company recalled 2.9 million packets of the solution last November after it found bacterial contamination in three lots sold in Japan. That recall included 183,000 units sold in the U.S.

At the time of the earlier recall, the company blamed it on a water-borne organism that got into some solution at the company's plant in China. The plant was temporarily shut down and the company insisted there was no problem with the lens solution's formula.

In the latest case, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it had found 138 "culture-confirmed" cases and has interviewed 46 patients in an investigation that covered 35 states and Puerto Rico.

Ironically, Advanced Medical Optics has been exploring the possibility of buying rival Bausch & Lomb Inc. which last year recalled its "MoistureLoc" contact solution, which was also linked to a serious eye infection in some users.

Of the cases identified by the CDC, 36 of the victims wore soft contacts and 21 reported using the Advanced Medical Optics product.

CDC epidemiologist Sharon Roy said consumers should stop using the product and discard it, along with their lens case and their current pair of contacts.

The organism involved is Acanthamoeba. It can cause a serious infection of the cornea. While such infections are quite rare, officials say they have been seeing a rising number of infections in recent years.

Acanthamoeba is commonly found in water, soil, sewage systems, cooling towers, and heating/ventilation/air conditioning systems. The infection it can cause -- Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) -- is usually found among individuals who improperly store, handle and disinfect their lenses, swim or shower while wearing their lenses or come into contact with contaminated water.

"While AMO continues to work with the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to further assess the data, it is acting with an abundance of caution to voluntarily recall Complete MoisturePlus from the market," the company said.

What To Do

Contact lens wearers should immediately consult a physician if they have any of the following symptoms: eye pain, eye redness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, sensation of something in the eye, and excessive tearing.

The symptoms, which can last several weeks to months, are not the same for everybody. Early in the infection, the symptoms of AK can be very similar to the symptoms of other more common eye infections but AK may eventually cause severe pain and possible vision loss with some patients requiring a corneal transplant if untreated.

Consumers who believe they are in possession of the recalled product should discontinue use immediately and call 1-888-899-9183.

Chicago Cases

The CDC was alerted to the problem by research conducted in the Chicago area at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where two researchers tracked 67 cases of the outbreak in the Chicago area since June 2003. Charlotte Joslin and Elmer Tu wrote a paper on their findings. It was accepted Friday for future publication in the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

The two are professors of ophthalmology at UIC. They speculated that the rising infection rate is linked to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandate to get certain harmful chemicals out of the water supply.

Since the EPA issued its mandate, doctors have been warning their patients to avoid showering while wearing contacts and to be careful not to come into contact with tap water while handling the lenses.

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