Another person has died in an outbreak of extremely drug-resistant bacteria linked to contaminated eye drops, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday in an update.
The outbreak now totals 81 cases in 18 states. In addition to the four deaths, health officials have identified 14 people with vision loss and four others whose eyeballs have been surgically removed (enucleated) due to infection.
The bacterium causing the outbreak is a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa called VIM-GES-CRPA. This unwieldy acronym stands for carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa (CRPA) with Verona integron-mediated metallo-β-lactamase (VIM) and Guyana extended-spectrum β-lactamase (GES). This is an extremely drug-resistant strain of bacteria that, until this outbreak, had never been seen in the United States before.
US health authorities have traced the origin of the bacteria to contaminated eye drops, with EzriCare artificial tears being the most common product used by those infected during the outbreak. The Food and Drug Administration signaled a recall of these drops in February after the CDC issued a health alert about 55 cases and the link to the eye drops. India-based maker of EzriCare eye drops, Global Pharma, also recalled two other products it manufactures: Delsam Pharma artificial tears and Delsam Pharma artificial ointment. The CDC and FDA advise people to immediately stop using these products if they haven't already.
Before the recalls, the eye drops were readily available nationwide and sold through Amazon, Walmart, eBay and other retailers. Clinical samples indicate that the contamination extends from at least May 2022 to April 2023, although the CDC has advised medical professionals to report any suspicious clinical samples from January 2022.
This week's outbreak update includes 13 new cases since the last outbreak update in March, six of which had samples taken prior to the recall and are now confirmed and added to the tally. Of the seven other newly added cases, most were either residing in long-term care facilities with other known cases or reporting continued use of one of the recalled artificial tears, the CDC reported.
Public health threat
CDC officials previously told Ars that the epidemic strain is of particular concern because it can spread quietly from person to person and share drug resistance genes with other pathogens.
"To date, extremely drug-resistant Pseudomonas with genes that spread resistance rapidly, such as VIM and GES, have been rare in this country," intelligence officer Marissa Grossman told Ars on CDC outbreaks. “The widespread introduction of the epidemic strain…threatens to undermine efforts to prevent these highly resistant organisms from becoming more common.”
Based on bacterial isolates collected during the outbreak, the strain of P. aeruginosa is resistant to antibiotics: cefepime, ceftazidime, piperacillin-tazobactam, aztreonam, carbapenems, ceftazidime-avibactam and ceftolozane-tazobactam, fluoroquinolones, polymyxins, amikacin, gentamicin and tobramycin, the CDC reported. Based on three isolates that underwent antimicrobial susceptibility testing, the strain still appears susceptible to the drug cefiderocol. But the CDC has advised doctors to work with specialists to determine treatment plans for the extremely drug-resistant pathogen.
The agency also pointed out that researchers from the Center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics (IPATH) at the University of California, San Diego and the Yale Center for Phage Biology and Therapy have identified a bacteriophage active against the epidemic strain . Bacteriophages (or simply phages) are viruses that selectively infect and destroy bacteria, and researchers have...
Another person has died in an outbreak of extremely drug-resistant bacteria linked to contaminated eye drops, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday in an update.
The outbreak now totals 81 cases in 18 states. In addition to the four deaths, health officials have identified 14 people with vision loss and four others whose eyeballs have been surgically removed (enucleated) due to infection.
The bacterium causing the outbreak is a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa called VIM-GES-CRPA. This unwieldy acronym stands for carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa (CRPA) with Verona integron-mediated metallo-β-lactamase (VIM) and Guyana extended-spectrum β-lactamase (GES). This is an extremely drug-resistant strain of bacteria that, until this outbreak, had never been seen in the United States before.
US health authorities have traced the origin of the bacteria to contaminated eye drops, with EzriCare artificial tears being the most common product used by those infected during the outbreak. The Food and Drug Administration signaled a recall of these drops in February after the CDC issued a health alert about 55 cases and the link to the eye drops. India-based maker of EzriCare eye drops, Global Pharma, also recalled two other products it manufactures: Delsam Pharma artificial tears and Delsam Pharma artificial ointment. The CDC and FDA advise people to immediately stop using these products if they haven't already.
Before the recalls, the eye drops were readily available nationwide and sold through Amazon, Walmart, eBay and other retailers. Clinical samples indicate that the contamination extends from at least May 2022 to April 2023, although the CDC has advised medical professionals to report any suspicious clinical samples from January 2022.
This week's outbreak update includes 13 new cases since the last outbreak update in March, six of which had samples taken prior to the recall and are now confirmed and added to the tally. Of the seven other newly added cases, most were either residing in long-term care facilities with other known cases or reporting continued use of one of the recalled artificial tears, the CDC reported.
Public health threat
CDC officials previously told Ars that the epidemic strain is of particular concern because it can spread quietly from person to person and share drug resistance genes with other pathogens.
"To date, extremely drug-resistant Pseudomonas with genes that spread resistance rapidly, such as VIM and GES, have been rare in this country," intelligence officer Marissa Grossman told Ars on CDC outbreaks. “The widespread introduction of the epidemic strain…threatens to undermine efforts to prevent these highly resistant organisms from becoming more common.”
Based on bacterial isolates collected during the outbreak, the strain of P. aeruginosa is resistant to antibiotics: cefepime, ceftazidime, piperacillin-tazobactam, aztreonam, carbapenems, ceftazidime-avibactam and ceftolozane-tazobactam, fluoroquinolones, polymyxins, amikacin, gentamicin and tobramycin, the CDC reported. Based on three isolates that underwent antimicrobial susceptibility testing, the strain still appears susceptible to the drug cefiderocol. But the CDC has advised doctors to work with specialists to determine treatment plans for the extremely drug-resistant pathogen.
The agency also pointed out that researchers from the Center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics (IPATH) at the University of California, San Diego and the Yale Center for Phage Biology and Therapy have identified a bacteriophage active against the epidemic strain . Bacteriophages (or simply phages) are viruses that selectively infect and destroy bacteria, and researchers have...
Zoom
Getty | UniversalImagesGroupUniversalImagesGroup
