Summit Vision Center

Dr. Langford May 12th, 2006

The CDC has a great website about the fungal keratitis going around. Apparently they don’t think it’s [just] poor hygene. They think there may be a real link between Renu MoistureLoc (RML) since the total market share for this product is ~10% while over 50% of the investigated U.S. cases involved patients using RML. Here is a breakdown taken from an Optometric Physician email newsletter:

According to recent information released by the CDC:
86 cases of Fusarium keratitis have been confirmed
96 cases are still under investigation
9 “possible” cases
There are 29 states with either a confirmed or suspected case of Fusarium keratitis.
56 cases associated with contact lens wear have been investigated - the products used in those 56 cases are:

54 - Bausch & Lomb
32 - ReNu with MoistureLoc
15 - ReNu MultiPlus
7 - ReNu (generic)
3 - Advanced Medical Optics (AMO)
3 - Alcon products

Note that some patients report using solutions from more than one manufacturer creating some confusion.
(source: CDC press release on 5/9/06)

Some of you may be using Renu Multiplus and wonder why they don’t make a big deal about the 15 cases with RMP. Keep in mind that RMP’s market share is over 40%.

So far no cases yet in Utah. Right now you can’t buy Renu with MoistureLoc, and if you still have it at home, you are advised to discontinue its use and apply for a coupon or refund from the manufacturer. All contact lens wearers should read the CDC article linked to above, regardless of what contact lens solution you use.

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