By Jon Hood
ConsumerAffairs.com
November 17, 2009
A California judge has certified a class action against the manufacturer of Complete MoisturePlus, a brand of contact lens solution that is alleged to have caused widespread and vision-threatening eye infections.
Complete MoisturePlus, used by around 10 percent of contact-wearers nationwide, has been linked to a serious type of eye infection called acanthamoeba keratitis. In its early stages, the infection causes redness, eye pain, discharge, and blurred vision; eventually, many victims permanently lose their eyesight. Once it has set in, the infection is extremely difficult to treat. Corneal transplant, which costs thousands of dollars and carries risks of its own, is often the only option for those who want to have their vision restored.
Acanthamoeba keratitis is caused by acanthamoeba, a bacteria found in water, soil, and sewage. The infection is rare, and usually strikes users who improperly handle, store, and disinfect their lenses, or who allow them to come into contact with water by showering, bathing, or swimming with their contacts still in.
Supposed contamination of Complete MoisturePlus led to two recalls of the solution in less than a year. In November 2006, Advanced Medical Optics recalled 2.9 million packets of the solution -- 183,000 of them in the U.S. -- claiming that a water-borne organism infected the solution at the company's China plant.
In May 2007, the company recalled another slew of solution bottles, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warning that users of Complete MoisturePlus were at least seven times more likely to develop acanthamoeba keratitis than were users of other solutions.
In its 2006 recall, Advanced Medical Optics specifically dismissed any concerns about the solution's overall formula, blaming the problem entirely on the China infection. Ron Labriola, the attorney for the plaintiffs, acknowledged the China infection but said the larger problem is indeed the solution's makeup.
Specifically, Labriola blamed Propylene glycol, an ingredient found in Complete MoisturePlus, which causes acanthamoeba to form a sort of protective cocoon around itself, according to a recent CDC finding. The CDC's study even went so far as to suggest that infections caused by Complete MoisturePlus were never the result of an infection, but instead resulted from the solution's inability to kill dangerous bacteria.
Abbott Medical Optics, which bought Advanced Medical Optics earlier this year, has an annual revenue of over $1 billion, but it will be shelling out its fair share of legal fees over the next few years. In addition to Labriola's suit, the company is facing over 70 personal injury claims, and at least one other class action.
