(TheLastPatriotNews.com) – Another death and more vision loss cases have been reported amid a probe into specific brands of eye drops infected with what is described as a “rare strain of a drug-resistant bacteria,” a report informs.
Four people have died after using the eye drops in question, including a new case reported by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as cited by Newsmax.
The investigation into the matter targets ten brands of eye drops, including EzriCare Artificial Tears.
The Artificial Tears Lubricant Eye Drops by Global Pharma Healthcare were first recalled in February. EzriCare and Delsam Pharma distributed them.
Besides the four deaths, the CDC has also reported that 14 people have suffered vision loss after using the eye drops, with six new cases registered last week.
Altogether, there have been 81 infections after using the eye drops among people living in 18 different states.
In four of those cases, the infections necessitated the surgical removal of the affected people’s eyeballs.
“Patients who have used EzriCare or Delsam Pharma’s artificial tears and who have signs or symptoms of an eye infection should seek medical care immediately,” the CDC urged in its latest update.
The infections in the EzriCare and Delsam Phaarma’s eye drops are caused by a bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
According to one report, its strain has never been detected in the United States until now.
The newly identified patients include people who recalled using the drops and patients who reside in care facilities where other individuals were infected with the bacteria.
The CDC has emphasized that the potentially deadly bacteria could spread to people who never used the eye drops.
“The bacteria can spread when one patient carrying the bacteria exposes another patient, or when patients touch common items or when healthcare workers transmit the germs, which is why infection control, like hand hygiene, is so important,” the US health agency previously told CNN.
Symptoms of infection with the bacteria may involve yellow, green, or clear discharge from the eye. There could also be other signs, such as “eye pain or discomfort, redness of the eye or eyelid, a feeling that something is in the eye, light sensitivity and blurry vision.”
The US Food and Drug Administration carried out an 11-day inspection of the Global Pharma facility in mid-February.
The report the federal agency released after the investigation said the plant’s manufacturing process “lacked assurance of product sterility” for eye drop batches made between December 2020 and April 2022.
The FDA has joined the CDC in issuing a call to patients to stop using the recalled eye drops.
A fourth person has died from using eye drops contaminated with a rare strain of a drug-resistant bacteria. https://t.co/tTN7esahXj pic.twitter.com/Ik1bhBc8RH
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) May 22, 2023
