The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said two more deaths and additional cases of vision loss linked to tainted eyedrops have been reported.
The CDC encouraged the public to immediately stop using EzriCare Artificial Tears in February due to potential bacterial contamination. Global Pharma Healthcare Private Limited makes the products and initiated a recall.
In the latest government tally, 68 people were diagnosed with infections from the bacteria, which has now caused a total of three deaths and eight cases of people losing their vision, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday. That’s up from one death and five cases of permanent vision loss reported last month.
Officials said isolates from those infected detected VIM‐GES‐CRPA, which are highly antimicrobial drug-resistant pathogens that are uncommon in the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Officials said the presence of VIM-GES-CRPA in opened EzriCare bottles from multiple lots was detected. These bottles came from customers with and without eye infections, the CDC said.
The CDC has now identified cases in 16 states, including California, New York, Illinois, Texas, and Pennsylvania. Most of the cases have been linked to four regional clusters, and Ezricare’s drops are the only product used by patients in each of those groups.
