Recall alert: FDA expands recall of eye drops believed responsible for blindness, 1 death

The Food and Drug Administration warned this week that an imported eye product that could be contaminated with bacteria that has blinded some patients.

The FDA is telling consumers to stop using Delsam Pharma’s Artificial Eye Ointment.

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Global Pharma Healthcare Private Limited, the company that makes the eye drops, has recalled the product.

The FDA had faulted the company, located in India, for multiple violations of other products and banned imports into the United States of its items.

The recalls came after a health alert issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over an outbreak of a “rare, extensively drug-resistant” Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria.

As of Tuesday, the CDC says 58 patients have been identified as having an issue with the drops.

At least 16 patients have been hospitalized from their infections so far, a CDC spokesperson told CBS News in a statement, with five permanently blinded and one patient who died in Washington state after the infection spread to their bloodstream.

“We are actively gathering more information about long-term patient outcomes, particularly for patients with eye infections,” the spokesperson said.

Most cases linked to the outbreak involved eye drops purchased online before the recall, according to CBS News.

One person reported buying EzriCare at a Costco warehouse.

The CDC doesn’t recommend you get tested if you have used EzriCare or Delsam Pharma’s artificial tears and have not had adverse effects. Instead, the agency says, stop using the drops and monitor for these eye infection symptoms:

• Discharge from the eyes
• Eye pain
• Red eyes or eyelids
• The sensation of something being in your eye
• Eye sensitivity
• Blurry vision