BACTERIA found in contaminated eye drops has been found to spread between people who are asymptomatic.
Eye drops sold in US pharmacies were found to be laced with a rare strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Deadly bacteria found in eye drops in the US has been found to spread person-to-personGetty – Contributor
EzriCare Artificial Tears were linked to deaths, vision loss and eyeball removals
It’s a type of bacteria commonly found in soil and water, which is often the culprit behind blood and lung infections.
Three people have died and four have had to have their eyeballs removed after contracting the rare superbug.
Another eight have lost vision in one or both their eyes after using contaminated eyedrops.
It lead US health watchdogs to pull EzriCare Artificial Tears – a preservative-free over-the-counter product manufactured in India – from pharmacy shelves earlier this year, in a bid to contain the outbreak.
But the bacteria was identified in a long-term care centre in Connecticut, which borders the state of New York in the US.
And it showed showed signs of spreading among asymptomatic patients within the centre, who had the bacteria colonised in their bodies, according to The New York Times.
Health officials are now concerned that the super-resistant strain, which had not been found in the country before, could gain a foothold in US health care settings
Not only is pseudomonas highly infectious and drug resistant – it’s also especially difficult to eradicate, according to Dr. David van Duin, an infectious disease specialist at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
The bacteria clings to sink drains, water faucets and other moist environments in healthcare settings, he told The New York Times.
It’s also ‘very hard to get rid of’ in patients who develop bloodstream infections, Dr van Duin added.
Sixty-eight people people infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa after using eye drops including EzriCare Artificial Tears, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
While the outbreak has largely been contained by the recall of four eye drop brands, Maroya Walters, lead investigator for the C.D.C.’s antimicrobial resistance team, reckons this won’t be the last we see of the rare superbug.
“I think we are going to see the impact of this play out over the course of months to years,” she said.
The US Food ad Drug Administration (FDA) – which regulates over-the-counter medicines – confirmed it had failed to inspect the factory in India where the eyedrops are manufactured before infections were reported.
The agency has previously been criticised for not inspecting overseas manufacturing in China and India.
But it visited the plant between February 20 and March 3 this year. The resulting inspection document brought to light a number of chilling discrepancies within the Global Pharma Healthcare’s manufacturing and packaging process.
“You used a manufacturing process that lacked assurance of product sterility,” the FDA wrote.
It identified insufficient cleaning throughout the factory as well as significant gaps in written procedures and training for employees.
Surfaces that touched packaging ‘were not cleaned, sanitized, decontaminated, or sterilized’ and there were gaps or mismatches in records to do with how key machines and areas were cleaned.
An inspector also saw a ‘black, brown, greasy deposit’ on part of one of the company’s machines used to put its product into bottles.
And Global Pharma Healthcare was found to have skipped important tests to double check the its products were sterile.
After issuing a recall earlier this year, the CDC advised people to stop using EzriCare eyes drops, as well as Delsam Pharma’s Artificial Tears – these are manufactured by the same India-based pharmaceutical company.
It identified the 16 states where patients are infected as California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The health watchdog is continuing to investigate the multistate outbreaks, it said last month.
And it urged patients who have noticed symptoms of an eye infection after using EzriCare or Delsam Pharma’s artificial tears to get medical care ‘immediately.’
According to the CDC eye infection symptoms may include:
Yellow, green, or clear discharge from the eyeEye pain or discomfortRedness of the eye or eyelidFeeling of something in your eye (foreign body sensation)Increased sensitivity to lightBlurry vision
Pseudomonas is a type of bacteria that lives in the environment and is commonly found in soil and water.
Its ultra resistant strain identified in the artificial tears is often the culprit behind blood and lung infections. People can also be infected by it after surgery.
It can spread in healthcare settings if people are then are exposed to water or soil with Pseudomonas aeruginosa germs, the CDC said.
Resistant strains of the germ can also spread in healthcare settings from one person to another through contaminated hands, equipment, or surfaces.
Patients in hospitals tend to be most at risk, according to the CDC, especially those:
on breathing machines (ventilators)with devices such as catheterswith wounds from surgery or burns
But infection can be avoided if patients and caregivers wash their hands with soap and water frequently, and patients rooms are cleaned daily.
People who use reusable contact lenses are four times as likely as those wearing daily disposables to develop a sight-threatening eye infection.