The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) has issuedan alertadvising to stop using EzriCare Artificial Tears eye drops after the product was linked with an irruption of drug - resistantPseudomonas aeruginosabacteria . As of January 31 , 55 people are fuck to have been infect across 12 US states . Some have suffered lasting vision deprivation , and it ’s beenreportedthat one somebody has unhappily died .
P. aeruginosais a Gram - negative bacterium that naturally occurs in soil and freshwater . It ’s turn over an opportunistic pathogen : it rarely get disease in otherwise healthy soul but can pose a threat to patients with weakened immune organisation , such as those with cystic fibrosis . Due to its aptitude for formingbiofilmson solid surfaces , P. aeruginosais particularly infamous for causing difficult - to - treaturinary tract infectionsin catheterise hospital patients .
The strain ofP. aeruginosathat has been linked with the eye drops is rare , witha compounding of genetic mutationsnot antecedently see before in the US . The glitch is known to beresistantto multiple classes of antibiotic drug , intend there are few options go away when it comes to try out to treat an contagion .
accord to the CDC , most of the patients had used optic drops in the menstruum leading up to their transmission . EzriCare Artificial Tears was the only brand of centre drops that could be tie to clusters of showcase across four different healthcare facilities , which account for 35 of the 55 reported infection .
Lab tests reveal the presence of the drug - resistant bacteria in bottles of the drop from multiple muckle , but it ’s presently undecipherable whether this pollution occurred during manufacturing or after the Cartesian product had been opened and used .
The 12 states with reported cases so far are California , Colorado , Connecticut , Florida , New Jersey , New Mexico , New York , Nevada , Texas , Utah , Washington , and Wisconsin . Patients have submit with symptoms ranging from fervour of thecornea(keratitis ) and fluids inside the optic ( endophthalmitis ) , to respiratory infections , and , in the case of one patient role , a fateful bloodstream infection .
Whilst the CDC has not yet go so far as to issue a recall of the product , the maker , Global Pharma Healthcare PVT Limited , issued astatement of voluntary recallon February 1 . The CDC counsel people to stop using the eye drops and to consult with their healthcare supplier for advice on alternate products .
If you have been using EzriCare Artificial Tears and you acquire symptoms of an eye infection – such as annoyance / soreness , redness , discharge , or blurred imaginativeness – it ’s commend that you seek aesculapian advice straight off .
