One person has died and dozens more have been infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in an outbreak that has been linked to contaminated eye drops from India, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Health officials said at least 52 people had been infected by the burkholderia cepacia bacteria, which has been traced back to three separate lubricating eye drops.
The bacteria is known as a superbug because it is resistant to antibiotics, making it much more difficult to treat and potentially fatal in people with weakened immune systems.
The Telegraph reports that there has been one confirmed death from the outbreak, but no details have been made public.
There have been 52 cases and six probable cases, with the youngest victim being a baby and the eldest, a 91-year-old. In 25 cases there were “clinically significant infections”, said the UKHSA, while 11 people suffered eye infections that included ulcers on their eyeballs, conjunctivitis or serious “deep tissue infections”.
Nine patients developed respiratory infections and four more had blood poisoning.
The health authority issued a product recall last November for the three products manufactured by Indiana Ophthalmics, based in India, which is when most cases are understood to have occurred.
Officials now believe the outbreak is over, although cases continued to emerge until February this year.
It is thought various batches of AaCarb, Aacomer and Puroptics branded carbomer eye gels were affected.
The products are usually given to patients suffering from dry eyes, but they can also be bought online.
Most of the patients were being treated in hospital for separate issues when they were given the eye drops by staff, who were unaware the products were contaminated.
This led the UKHSA to issue a national patient safety alert in December, advising all medics in the NHS to avoid using carbomer eye gels on high-risk patients, such as those going through chemotherapy.
This advice was withdrawn in an update last week as the health agency said the outbreak had slowed but that the situation would still be monitored.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Eye drops from India linked to deaths, blindness
FDA warns of toxic eye drops, possible blindness