The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging the public to immediately discontinue the use of EzriCare Artificial Tears and said the eye drops could be linked to infections across the United States that have resulted in hospitalization, vision loss and one death.
According to the CDC, EzriCare brand artificial tear eye drops are often marketed in a blue package with light blue dots on the front and “EzriCare” printed on the upper left. Bottles of EzriCare eye drops often are blue with a light blue top.
The product, Artificial Tears, is distributed by EzriCare and Delsam Pharma and sold online across the US in multidose bottles.
An Indian company, Global Pharma Healthcare Private Limited, has recalled Artificial Tears Lubricant Eye Drops from the US market due to Possible Contamination.
Global Pharma, in a statement, said that it was recalling the eye drops “out of an abundance of caution”.
“Global Pharma is fully cooperating with US federal authorities, and is continuing to investigate this matter, but thus far we have not determined whether our manufacturing facility is the source of the contamination,” the company said in astatement.
As of January 31, 2023, the bacteria strain has been found in 55 people in 12 states, according to the CDC. The agency said that the infections had caused one death, vision loss in five of 11 people who had eye infections, and some hospitalizations.
Thirty-five patients are linked to four healthcare facility clusters. The dates of specimen collection were from May 2022 to January 2023, according to the CDC.
The health agency has recommended to the public as below:
- Discontinue using EzriCare Artificial Tears pending additional guidance from CDC and FDA.
- If patients were advised to use EzriCare Artificial Tears by their healthcare provider, they should follow up with their healthcare provider for an alternative artificial tears product to use.
- Patients who used EzriCare Artificial Tears and who have signs or symptoms of an eye infection, such as discharge from the eye, eye pain or discomfort, redness of the eye or eyelid, feeling of something in the eye, increased sensitivity to light, or blurry vision, should seek timely medical care. At this time, CDC does not recommend testing of patients who have used this product and who are not experiencing any signs or symptoms of infection.
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