Eye Fungus a Mystery to Bausch & Lomb

Ben Dobbin
AP
Pierceland Herald
____________
Rochester, New York (US):
The source of a spike in dangerous fungal eye infections linked by federal health officials to a contact lens solution sold by Bausch & Lomb Inc. remains a mystery, the eye-care products maker said Wednesday.
"Every additional test we‘ve run suggests that the formulation is as safe and effective as anything on the market and in particular with regard to Fusarium."
The agency has made no direct link between ReNu and the infections, traced back to June 2005, but a high incidence of the affected people had used the solution.
Fusarium is commonly found in plant material and soil in tropical and subtropical regions. Without eye-drop treatment, which can last two to three months, the infection can scar the cornea and blind its victims.
Bausch & Lomb had already been grappling with accounting troubles in recent months, and Zarrella said the company was unlikely to meet an April 30 deadline to file its annual report for 2005.
Apr 12, 2006