By Julia Ordaz
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterial infection never before identified in the U.S until 2022, has left 4 dead, 4 with removed eyeballs, 14 with vision loss, and over 80 infected. Some of the patients were left with alternate or symptoms: respiratory or urinary tract infections. What did these patients have in common? They all used eye drops. Most patients claimed to have used a variety of more than 10 different types of eye drops, but the brand that consistently came up in the results was EzriCare Artificial Tears.
Global Pharma Healthcare, the pharmaceutical company responsible for distributing EzriCare and Delsan Pharma products issued a recall in February for the EzriCare Artificial Tears as well as a few other products due to potential bacterial contamination. The CDC has stated that, “Dates of specimen collection were from May 2022 to April 2023.” This means that they found bacteria in products made as far back as May 2022.
Pseudomonas are a bacteria commonly found in soil and water. Pseudomonas aeruginosa can cause infections in the blood, lungs, and other vulnerable parts of the body. This particular strain is drug-resistant and has been introduced to the U.S. for the first time through this outbreak. The bacteria is contagious and can spread to people who haven’t used the contaminated product, so a spread in healthcare settings isn’t uncommon. 7 out of 13 patients in new cases among two states also recall living in long-term care facilities. It is likely that the eyedrops were given to patients at these facilities.
After the recall in February, the FDA conducted an 11-day search of Global Pharma Healthcare facilities, and made 11 observations. One of them was that the facility’s manufacturing process “lacked assurance of product sterility.”
Symptoms of an eye infection include: eye pain or discomfort, yellow, green, or clear discharge from the eye, blurry vision, increased sensitivity to light, and more. The CDC expects to find more cases once testing is done for patients with similar symptoms. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms as a response to medicine, you can contact the FDA’s Consumer Complaint Coordinators.
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