Bausch and Lomb is responsible for contact lens wearers suffering from corneal
infection from fungal eye disease.
According to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
five kinds of contact lens solution, three of which are made by Bausch & Lomb
were used by people suffering from an aggressive fungal eye infection.
All ReNu solutions sold in North America are made at one Bausch and Lomb
manufacturing plant located in Greenville, S.C. The CDC has received reports of 86 confirmed, nine possible, and 96 suspected
fusarium keratitis cases in 29 states. The
infections by the ReNu-induced fusarium fungus were so severe that at least
eight patients have required corneal transplants.
At least 54 of the 58 contact lens wearers stated that they had used a Bausch &
Lomb lens cleaning solution. Bausch and Lomb is responsible as these cases could
have been avoided if Bausch & Lomb advised the contact-wearing public of the
problem earlier. These figures exclude additional cases being investigated in
Asia, which is also supplied with ReNu contact lens solutions from the same
South Carolina plant.
Since March 2006, the CDC and FDA have been
investigating a possible connection between Bausch & Lomb contact lens solutions
and an international outbreak of sight-threatening eye infections, called fusarium (fungal) keratitis. Contact lens wearers with symptoms such as redness,
pain, light sensitivity, or blurry vision are urged to see a doctor.
The FDA said the recall of ReNu moisture loc by Bausch and Lomb is based on the
disproportionate number of cases compared to the overall market share. Renu
moisture loc was used by 57 percent of the outbreak victims.
In contrast, ReNu MultiPlus solution for contact lens wearers was reported as
being used by 27 percent of the outbreak victims. ReNu MultiPlus is used by 40
percent of the U.S. market or 11 million consumers.
ReNu MultiPlus has been on the market since 1997 and has a different chemical
makeup than ReNu moisture loc, which has only been sold in the United States
since late 2004.