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CDC Confirms MoistureLoc-Eye Infection Link

By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.com

May 21, 2006

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says its investigation has found that Bausch & Lomb's MoistureLoc contact-lens cleaner is associated with a rash of serious fungal eye infections.

Continuing its attempt to put a positive spin on the problem, the company released a statement in which Bausch & Lomb Chief Executive Ronald L. Zarrella said the CDC's finding "should put to rest any further speculation that other products may also be implicated."

The company finally recalled MoistureLoc last week, months after it first became aware of a possible link between the lens cleaner and Fusarium keratitis, a serious infection that can cause blindness.

The company conceded earlier this month that it was alerted last fall to a rise in infections among lens wearers in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong officials said they had interviewed 62 patients, of whom 25 said they had used a ReNu solution. Seven of those 25 patients had the Fusarium keratitis infection, officials said.

The company also said that Renu, which generated $45 million in U.S. sales last year, had been linked to a "handful" of eye infection cases in Europe but did not disclose the number of cases.

The CDC said its tests found that other products that patients with the eye infections reported using, including other Bausch & Lomb products, were not associated with an increased risk of infection.

The agency conducted an analysis of a subset of people who had the eye infections and said the results indicate "an increased risk for Fusarium keratitis associated with the use of Bausch & Lomb's ReNu with MoistureLoc."

It's estimated that a third of the 30 million Americans who wear contacts use a Bausch & Lomb lens solution.

According to the latest CDC figures, there have been 130 confirmed cases of Fusarium keratitis. Of those 125 reported wearing contact lenses, and 118 were able to identify which contact lens solutions they had used during the month before onset of infection.

Seventy-five patients, or 64%, reported using Bausch & Lomb's ReNu with MoistureLoc alone, 14, or 12%, reported using MoistureLoc in combination with another product.

Bausch & Lomb originally "withdrew" the MoistureLoc product but did not recall it, a decision criticized by many consumer advocates. CDC now says it has an unspecified number of reports of Fusarium keratitis victims who contracted infections after April 13, when Bausch "withdrew" but did not recall the product.

Bausch & Lomb faces a growing number of lawsuits from consumers who say they contracted the infection after using the MoistureLoc solution.

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