Press Release

Press Release

Update on cases of fungal corneal infections

04 Mar 2006

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) has traced and recorded 23 cases of fungal corneal infection (keratitis) among local contact lens users following reports of this kind were found in Singapore and Hong Kong recently.

A CHP spokesman said these cases comprised six males and 17 females aged between 16 and 51. Twenty of them sought medical consultations from public hospitals and three others received medical treatments in private hospitals between May 2005 and February this year. "DH has contacted 22 of these patients. Twenty-one claimed that they were users of B&L ReNu multipurpose contact lens solution," the spokesman said. The spokesman said preliminary results of sterility tests on 20 samples of B&L ReNu contact lens solutions by DH are negative. "We are maintaining close communication with other agencies for further findings and developments," he said. Meanwhile, DH!"s hotline has so far received more than 2 000 enquiries from members of the public. The spokesman reminded contact lens users to observe the following measures to prevent contact lens associated infection:

Consult eye doctors if symptoms of keratitis developed such as eye pain, redness etc.

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