May 22, 2023 – The number of people that have developed treatment-resistant bacterial infections from contaminated eye drops continues to rise. Since the CDC's last update in March, 13 more cases have been confirmed, a lot of which were identified after the attention products were officially recalled.
One more death was reported, bringing the entire death toll to 4. In total, 81 people have been infected in 18 states since May 2022, including 14 individuals who suffered vision loss and 4 individuals who needed to have their eyeballs surgically removed.
In seven cases, samples were taken after the recall was announced in February. Three products manufactured in India were remembered related to the outbreak: EzriCare Artificial Tears, Delsam Pharma Artificial Tears and Delsam Pharma Artificial Ointment.
“Of the 7 patients from whom samples were collected after the recall, most either lived in long-term care facilities with other known cases or reported using a recalled brand of artificial tears,” the CDC reported in its latest update.
Earlier this yr, the FDA halted imports of the recalled products and visited the plant in India where they were manufactured, owned by Global Pharma Healthcare. In a March 2 subpoena to the corporate, the FDA listed nearly a dozen problems, including dirty equipment and a scarcity of safety procedures and testing. In March, a Florida woman filed a lawsuit against Global Pharma, claiming that her use of the now-recalled EzriCare Artificial Tears product caused a severe infection in May 2022 that led to the surgical removal of her right eye, in keeping with WTVJan NBC news station in Florida.
“These were catastrophic and life-changing infections,” said Dr. Maroya Spalding Walters, antimicrobial resistance epidemiologist on the CDC. NBC News.
The CDC recommends that individuals who've used the recalled eye products and who experience any of the next signs of infection seek immediate medical attention:
- Yellow, green or clear discharge from the attention
- Eye pain or discomfort
- Redness of the attention or eyelid
- Foreign body sensation in the attention
- Increased sensitivity to light
- Blurred vision