US confirms 102 infections in contact lens blindness scare

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/0....vajy1q3g.html

US confirms 102 infections in contact lens blindness scare
May 05 3:20 PM US/Eastern

US health authorities said they have confirmed 102 cases of a serious
eye infection that has left contact lens maker Bausch and Lomb Inc.
reeling.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that of the
total, it had complete data indicating that 54 sufferers had used
Bausch and Lomb cleaning solutions.

Data on all of the 102 cases are still coming in. But 25 states spread
across the country have reported at least one confirmed or possible
case, the CDC said in a statement.

Another 12 cases are listed as "possible" and 81 are still under
investigation in a total of 31 US states, it said.

Bausch and Lomb has been forced to yank its best-selling solution ReNu
with MoistureLoc from sale after the spate of infections of fungal
keratitis, a painful inflammation of the cornea that can lead to
blindness.

Its troubles deepened on Wednesday when two law firms announced they
were launching a class-action lawsuit against the company.

The Mason and Peter N. Wasylyk firms named one plaintiff in the suit,
Barbara Cavallaro of Rhode Island, who they said needed a corneal
transplant in late December and will also require surgery on
cataracts.

The CDC cautioned that not all of the infections involved people who
used Bausch and Lomb solutions exclusively, saying that three involved
Alcon solutions and another three were linked to Advanced Medical
Optics solutions.

But it noted that some of the users may have used more than one
company's solutions before becoming infected with fungal keratitis.

It added that the disease occurs naturally in the environment and the
increase in cases may have resulted from greater public awareness of
the condition, because of recent media coverage of Bausch and Lomb.

The company has suspended production of ReNu with MoistureLoc at the
plant in South Carolina from which the US market is supplied. But
Bausch and Lomb says markets in Europe and most of Asia are supplied
from other plants.

Nevertheless, Bausch had already stopped sales of its ReNu
multi-purpose solutions in Singapore and Hong Kong after a spate of
keratitis infections among lens users there since February.

And retailers across the world have been taking no chances, stripping
Bausch and Lomb products from their shelves.

A reality check here.

Fact 1: In the USA, there are approximately 30 million contact lens
users. A hundred or so have the fungal infection. 6 of those have lost
some vision as a result. That's 6 out of 30 million.

Fact 2: Worldwide, there are approximately 100 million contact lens
users and about 200 hundred reported cases.

This is but a "drop in the bucket."

Fact3: B&L's Renu with MoistureLoc accounts for 10 % of those (USA)
users and it would be obviously statistically associated that those
people are in the affected group.

Fact4: The fungus exists in the dirt. You wash your hands with soap and
water and it's gone. The people who have had infections have to not
practiced basic contact lens hygiene.

Perhaps the B&L product does not provide appropriate disinfection to
kill this fungus. But simple hand washing would be take care of the
problem in any event. The few people who have had serious
vision-threatening complications had that happen because they did not
follow sensible contact lens care, ignored their symptoms and did not
seek appropriate medical care or if they did so, were incorrectly
diagnosed and inappropriately treated. Hence 6 out of 30 million.

Contact lenses do not cause infections. People do it to themselves.

LB, O.D.

FYI: I have no financial interest in B&L and actually do not use their
lens care products in my practice. I do use their silicone hydrogel
lenses.

LarryDoc wrote:
> A reality check here.
>
> Fact 1: In the USA, there are approximately 30 million
> contact lens users. A hundred or so have the fungal
> infection. 6 of those have lost some vision as a result.
> That's 6 out of 30 million.
>
> Fact 2: Worldwide, there are approximately 100 million
> contact lens users and about 200 hundred reported cases.
>
> This is but a "drop in the bucket."
>
> Fact3: B&L's Renu with MoistureLoc accounts for 10 % of
> those (USA) users and it would be obviously statistically
> associated that those people are in the affected group.
>
> Fact4: The fungus exists in the dirt. You wash your
> hands with soap and water and it's gone. The people who
> have had infections have to not practiced basic contact
> lens hygiene.
>
> Perhaps the B&L product does not provide appropriate
> disinfection to kill this fungus. But simple hand washing
> would be take care of the problem in any event. The few
> people who have had serious vision-threatening
> complications had that happen because they did not follow
> sensible contact lens care, ignored their symptoms and
> did not seek appropriate medical care or if they did so,
> were incorrectly diagnosed and inappropriately treated.
> Hence 6 out of 30 million.
>
> Contact lenses do not cause infections. People do it to
> themselves.

Well... I didn't intentionally do it to myself. Years before I
wore contacts I contracted a fungal infection in my eye while
playing golf for a week in Myrtle Beach, NC (lots of swamps).
I think there were a lot less than 5 million there that week.

-Quick