The Complete MoisturePlus contact lens solution is being recalled by maker Advanced Medical Optics, soon after federal health officials issued an alert that it was linked to a serious, but rare eye infection called Acanthamoeba keratitis.
The alert was first issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which said it had found 138 confirmed cases and that it had also interviewed 46 patients. Users of Complete MoisturePlus solution were at seven times greater risk of contacting the infection compared to those who did not use it.
Following this report, AMO decided to pull the product, but assured consumers that no other product was affected.
A company statement said, “As patient safety is paramount to AMO, the company is taking decisive action to stop shipments, recall product from the market place and encourage consumers to discontinue the use of AMO Complete MoisturePlus until further information is available.”
Acanthamoeba keratitis is a rare eye infection caused by a parasite. It results in redness, severe pain and some discharge from the affected eye. Early diagnosis can save the eye. However, in the absence of this, blindness can result sometimes requiring corneal transplantation.
AMO said that it was cooperating with CDC and the FDA in this matter to resolve it as quickly as possible. The latest link between contact lens solution and eye infections follows last year’s episode when Bausch & Lomb recalled its ReNu with MoistureLoc lens solution because it was linked to fungal infections.
