Friday, February 24, 2006

No removal of lens cleaner here

NST: Eye-care giant Bausch & Lomb has no plans to take its ReNu contact lens solution off the shelves in Malaysia, after the product was linked to a spate of eye infections in Hong Kong and Singapore.
The company yesterday suspended sales of the multi-purpose contact lens solution in Hong Kong, after the health authority began looking into a recent spike in the number of eye infections in Singapore.
Reuters news agency today reported the company would not suspend sales in other markets where there have been no cases of fungal keratitis.
On Tuesday, Singapore’s Health Ministry "strongly advised" contact lens wearers to stop using the Bausch & Lomb product as a precaution until it completed investigations.
The island has seen 39 cases since 2005 with an unusual number last month. Thirty-four of these 39 cases said that they had used a ReNu multipurpose solution by B&L, it said. Three of them had to undergo urgent cornea transplants, Reuters said.
The health authority also said it is working with the company to discover the cause of the infections.
Bausch & Lomb stood by its product, saying it was confident a thorough investigation will show that ReNu is not to blame.
There are no known cases of the eye infection in Malaysia, said Bausch & Lomb South East Asia.

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