Solution Problems - again

New research, published in the November (2008)  issue of the Journal of Medical Microbiology, shows that a high percentage of contact lens cases in Tenerife are contaminated with Acanthamoeba that cannot be killed by normal contact lens solution.

 "When people rinse their contact lens cases in tap water, they become contaminated with amoebae that feed on bacteria. They are then transferred onto the lenses and can live between the contact lens and the eye. This is particularly worrying because commercial contact lens solutions do not kill the amoebae."

The scientists looked at 153 contact lens cases, 90 containing lenses, from people in Tenerife who were showing no symptoms of infection. 65.9 % of the cases and lenses were contaminated with pathogenic Acanthamoeba and 30% of the amoebae identified were highly pathogenic. No pathogenic strains were found in daily contact lenses but several pathogenic amoebae were isolated from monthly and bi-monthly lenses. The two year use lenses that were analysed contained a high percentage of pathogenic amoebae due to a lack of hygiene and poor care of the lenses.

"We tested the effect of two standard drugs on the amoebae. We found that the antibiotic ciprofloxacin and the antiseptic chlorhexidine both kill Acanthamoeba. However, the concentrations of chlorhexidine found in contact lens maintenance solutions are not high enough to kill pathogenic strains, so most lens solutions do not protect against amoebic keratitis," said Dr Valladares.