The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports one more death and six more cases of vision loss linked to infections from recalled eye drops due to bacterial contamination.
Four deaths and a total of 14 cases of vision loss have now been reported from more than 80 infections with a rare strain of drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa that had never been identified in the United States prior to this outbreak. The CDC has also reported four cases of surgically removed eyeballs.
Patients reported using more than 10 different brands of eye drops — most commonly EzriCare Artificial Tears, according to the CDC. Global Pharma Healthcare’s Artificial Tears Lubricant Eye Drops, distributed by EzriCare and Delsam Pharma, were first recalled in February.
In an update this week, the CDC identified 13 additional patients in two additional states, bringing the total to 81 patients in 18 states.
Samples were collected from seven of the 13 newly identified patients following the eye product recalls. The majority of these seven patients reported either using the recalled drops or living in long-term care facilities where there have been other cases of the bacterial infection.
The US Food and Drug Administration and CDC have urged consumers to stop using the recalled products.
“Patients who have used EzriCare or Delsam Pharma artificial tears and have signs or symptoms of an eye infection should seek immediate medical attention,” the CDC said.
Symptoms may include yellow, green, or clear discharge from the eye; eye pain or discomfort; redness of the eye or eyelid; the feeling that something is in the eye; increased sensitivity to light; and blurred vision.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a drug-resistant bacterium that can spread to people who don’t have symptoms — and people who haven’t used eye drops, according to the CDC. This type of spread is particularly common in healthcare settings.
“The bacteria can spread when a patient who carries the bacteria exposes another patient, or when patients touch common objects, or when medical workers transmit the germs, which is why infection control, such as hand hygiene, is so important,” she said agency previously told CNN.
In April, the FDA said in an inspection report that Global Pharma Healthcare’s facility in India failed to follow proper protocols to prevent contamination of its products.
The FDA visited the facility for an 11-day inspection that began in mid-February, two weeks after the company recalled EzriCare Artificial Tears over possible contamination.
The inspection of the Global Pharma facility resulted in 11 observations from the FDA, including a “manufacturing process that did not ensure product sterility,” specifically for product lots manufactured and shipped to the United States between December 2020 and April 2022.
CNN’s Deidre McPhillips contributed to this report.
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