This study, conducted by researchers from University College London (UCL) and Moorfields Eye Hospital, alerts to a new epidemic of severe eye infection, which is raging in the south-east of England, among contact lens wearers. contact. These data presented in the British Journal of Ophthalmology show that the infection can lead to blindness but is, with some measures, preventable.
While the infection is still fairly rare (incidence: 2.5/100,000 lens users per year), the increase in the number of cases highlights the need for users to be aware of the risks, explains lead author Professor John Dart from the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology.His team has seen a 3-fold increase in Acanthamoeba keratitis since 2011 in south-east England, and particularly among contact lens wearers reusable lenses who have used ineffective contact lens solution, contaminated their lenses with water, or reported poor contact lens hygiene.
Acanthamoeba keratitis is an eye disease that causes the front surface of the eye, the cornea, to become painful and inflamed due to infection with Acanthamoeba, a microorganism that will form a cyst. The most severely affected patients (approximately 1 in 4 infected patients) lose up to 75% of their vision or may become blind. They require prolonged treatment, and overall 25% of those affected require a corneal transplant to treat the disease or restore vision. Anyone can be infected, but contact lens wearers are at the highest risk, due to an increased susceptibility to infection, for reasons that are still poorly identified,
The researchers collected data on the incidence of infection at Moorfields Eye Hospital, from 1985 to 2016 and specified this increase, from 8 to 10 cases per year over the period 2000 to 2003 to 36 to 65 cases per year, these last years. As Moorfields Eye Hospital treats more than 1 in 3 cases in the UK, the data is considered to be nationally relevant. The case-control study conducted simultaneously in 63 contact lens-wearing patients with Acanthamoeba keratitis and 213 infection-free controls, reveals that:
- the risk of developing the disease is more than 3 times higher in people with poor contact lens hygiene;
- higher among users of a disinfectant product for lenses containing Oxipol (now withdrawn by the manufacturer);
- higher for people who wear their contacts in swimming pools or spas. Showering and washing the face without removing contact lenses are also risk factors.
Some advice for patients wearing contact lenses: these people should make sure
- wash your hands thoroughly before handling contact lenses,
- avoid wearing them while swimming, washing your face or bathing,
- to use a suitable disinfectant.
“ We now need to share this information as widely as possible with clinicians, opticians and contact lens wearers, to reduce the incidence and burden of this serious eye infection ,” the authors conclude. It also remains for the Health Agencies to specify the immediate and urgent measures in terms of prevention. Contact lenses are medical devices!
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