Re: Lens Care Solution Is Faulted

[Guest guest]

It's The AC in Stores Ac and the List goes on Please don't take my word

investigate the real source don't need to go inside where does open and close.

Florida is so Toxic not just the trees Toxic sites up the Yang Yang homes

buildings City and County ones the list goes on, only no one will listen it's in

the AC where I live if I put it on I can't walk.

Elvira

[] Lens Care Solution Is Faulted

Lens Care Solution Is Faulted

Wilmington Morning Star - Wilmington,NC

New York Times

http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20060823/ZNYT01/608230489/1002/Business

Federal disease control experts and leading eye doctors have

formally concluded that ReNu With MoistureLoc from Bausch & Lomb was

the only contact lens solution contributing to an outbreak of

potentially blinding fungal eye infections earlier this year.

But the researchers report, to be published today in The Journal of

the American Medical Association, says it remains unclear how the

product caused the problems.

An accompanying commentary by two academic researchers, meanwhile,

argues that further study is needed to gauge the safety of various

brands of multipurpose lens care solutions on the market that, like

MoistureLoc, are used for cleaning, storing and moistening soft

contact lenses.

The research report challenged Bausch & Lombs argument that a major

factor in the outbreak was customers failure to properly clean their

lenses and regularly replace the storage solution.

Practicing good contact lens hygiene is a prudent and common-sense

measure for all contact lens wearers, irrespective of contact lens

solution used, Dr. C. Chang, a fungal disease specialist at

the Centers for Disease Control, who was lead author on the report,

said in an e-mail interview. However, the most important message for

contact lens wearers is to stop using MoistureLoc, and throw out any

MoistureLoc solution purchased before the recall.

The infections showed up in Asia last year and peaked in the United

States this spring, shortly after Bausch withdrew MoistureLoc from

the domestic market on April 13. Bausch announced a worldwide recall

a month later. The events caused the companys stock and profit

forecasts to plunge.

In some ways, the journal article is mildly positive news for

Bausch, saying the number of confirmed new infection cases has

slowed to a trickle since the recall.

The analysis also found no evidence of unusual risks with an older

Bausch product, ReNu MultiPlus, which the company has pushed as a

replacement for MoistureLoc. Since the recall, the company has been

counting on renewed growth from MultiPlus to rebuild its formerly

lucrative lens care business.

The company expressed satisfaction with the article.

We think the report confirms that Bausch & Lomb took the right

action in the interests of consumer health and safety by recalling

the MoistureLoc product, and that Bausch & Lomb can continue to

recommend its ReNu MultiPlus solution with confidence, the company

said in an e-mail response to questions about the report.

The medical journal data analysis was based on 164 confirmed cases

of Fusarium fungus eye infections in the United States from the

beginning of June 2005 to the end of June this year. The analysis

concluded that just over one-third of the patients had suffered

serious enough damage to one or both eyes to require corneal

transplants.

Before the withdrawal, about 2.3 million of the nations 30 million

soft lens wearers used MoistureLoc. The analysis did not say how

many of the most seriously injured patients used MoistureLoc, but

the product was used by a large majority of those reporting fungal

infections.

The researchers did find some evidence for the companys contention

that topping off lens care solution in contact lens storage cases

instead of replacing the solution raised the risk of fungal

infection. But they said that in other respects there was no

difference between the practices of the people infected and those

who remained healthy.

The study showed just one confirmed infection in June, and Dr. Chang

said last week that health care officials had every indication that

the outbreak was over.

But, he said, health authorities continue to hear sporadic,

unconfirmed reports of infections that appear related to use of

MoistureLoc supplies purchased before the recall.

Bausch is a long way from putting the debacle behind it.

Two weeks ago, the company said in a filing with the Securities and

Exchange Commission that pretax profits this year would fall to $80

million or less, a 78 percent drop from last year and far below Wall

Streets estimates. The expenses of the recall and efforts to rebuild

market share are also forecast to hurt earnings and sales in 2007.

The company is also facing numerous consumer lawsuits linked to the

outbreaks.

Bauschs shares closed yesterday at $46.39, down 3 cents. Fusarium,

typically found in tropical countries, is a widely distributed

family of fungi. In the past, the most common victims of Fusarium

infections have been agricultural workers or others in rural areas

who scratch an eye with a twig or some other plant harboring the

fungus.

The potential link between Bauschs products and Fusarium infections

was first reported in Asia last year when health authorities in

Singapore and Hong Kong noticed a surge in infections among wearers

of soft contact lenses.

MoistureLoc, which Bausch first introduced in the fall of 2004, was

removed from several Asian markets in February this year. Bausch

began receiving reports of cases in the United States in March,

including some among lens users in northern states where Fusarium

infections are extremely rare.

Bausch eventually concluded that MoistureLocs formulation could

create biofilms in some circumstances that would shield the fungus

from the sterilizing agent in MoistureLoc. That could allow Fusarium

to colonize a lens case or bottle cap, the company said.

In May, Dr. G. Schultz, the director of the Food and Drug

Administration Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said that

the agency was reasonably certain that Bausch had provided a good

answer to what had gone wrong. But the authors of the journal report

said there was too little evidence to identify the exact problem

with MoistureLoc and that more research was needed.

In the accompanying commentary, Dr. Todd P. Margolis and Dr. P.

Whitcher of the Proctor Foundation for Research in Ophthalmology at

the University of California, San Francisco, called for more

rigorous study of the entire class of all-in-one lens care products.

While the simplicity of multipurpose solutions appeals to consumers,

some doctors fear the solutions make it harder to reliably sterilize

lenses than systems that use a separate cleaning agent.

Dr. Margolis said in an interview that there was some evidence that

the number of Fusarium cases began to rise before MoistureLoc was

first marketed.

There are many cases out there that havent been fully investigated,

he said.

The commentary also called for more research on the best

antimicrobial agents to treat fungal eye infections, which are far

rarer than bacterial eye infections but are still a major cause of

blindness in developing countries.

They noted that in 25 percent of the Fusarium cases reviewed in a

prominent ophthalmology journal earlier this year, doctors had at

first mistakenly prescribed an anti-inflammatory treatment that is

appropriate for bacterial infections but actually makes fungal

infections worse.

[Guest guest]

i know the feeling about hvac systems. a lot of cars are bad as well.

elvira52 <Elvira52@...> wrote: It's The AC in Stores Ac and

the List goes on Please don't take my word investigate the real source don't

need to go inside where does open and close. Florida is so Toxic not just the

trees Toxic sites up the Yang Yang homes buildings City and County ones the list

goes on, only no one will listen it's in the AC where I live if I put it on I

can't walk.

Elvira

[] Lens Care Solution Is Faulted

Lens Care Solution Is Faulted

Wilmington Morning Star - Wilmington,NC

New York Times

http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20060823/ZNYT01/608230489/1002/Business

Federal disease control experts and leading eye doctors have

formally concluded that ReNu With MoistureLoc from Bausch & Lomb was

the only contact lens solution contributing to an outbreak of

potentially blinding fungal eye infections earlier this year.

But the researchers report, to be published today in The Journal of

the American Medical Association, says it remains unclear how the

product caused the problems.

An accompanying commentary by two academic researchers, meanwhile,

argues that further study is needed to gauge the safety of various

brands of multipurpose lens care solutions on the market that, like

MoistureLoc, are used for cleaning, storing and moistening soft

contact lenses.

The research report challenged Bausch & Lombs argument that a major

factor in the outbreak was customers failure to properly clean their

lenses and regularly replace the storage solution.

Practicing good contact lens hygiene is a prudent and common-sense

measure for all contact lens wearers, irrespective of contact lens

solution used, Dr. C. Chang, a fungal disease specialist at

the Centers for Disease Control, who was lead author on the report,

said in an e-mail interview. However, the most important message for

contact lens wearers is to stop using MoistureLoc, and throw out any

MoistureLoc solution purchased before the recall.

The infections showed up in Asia last year and peaked in the United

States this spring, shortly after Bausch withdrew MoistureLoc from

the domestic market on April 13. Bausch announced a worldwide recall

a month later. The events caused the companys stock and profit

forecasts to plunge.

In some ways, the journal article is mildly positive news for

Bausch, saying the number of confirmed new infection cases has

slowed to a trickle since the recall.

The analysis also found no evidence of unusual risks with an older

Bausch product, ReNu MultiPlus, which the company has pushed as a

replacement for MoistureLoc. Since the recall, the company has been

counting on renewed growth from MultiPlus to rebuild its formerly

lucrative lens care business.

The company expressed satisfaction with the article.

We think the report confirms that Bausch & Lomb took the right

action in the interests of consumer health and safety by recalling

the MoistureLoc product, and that Bausch & Lomb can continue to

recommend its ReNu MultiPlus solution with confidence, the company

said in an e-mail response to questions about the report.

The medical journal data analysis was based on 164 confirmed cases

of Fusarium fungus eye infections in the United States from the

beginning of June 2005 to the end of June this year. The analysis

concluded that just over one-third of the patients had suffered

serious enough damage to one or both eyes to require corneal

transplants.

Before the withdrawal, about 2.3 million of the nations 30 million

soft lens wearers used MoistureLoc. The analysis did not say how

many of the most seriously injured patients used MoistureLoc, but

the product was used by a large majority of those reporting fungal

infections.

The researchers did find some evidence for the companys contention

that topping off lens care solution in contact lens storage cases

instead of replacing the solution raised the risk of fungal

infection. But they said that in other respects there was no

difference between the practices of the people infected and those

who remained healthy.

The study showed just one confirmed infection in June, and Dr. Chang

said last week that health care officials had every indication that

the outbreak was over.

But, he said, health authorities continue to hear sporadic,

unconfirmed reports of infections that appear related to use of

MoistureLoc supplies purchased before the recall.

Bausch is a long way from putting the debacle behind it.

Two weeks ago, the company said in a filing with the Securities and

Exchange Commission that pretax profits this year would fall to $80

million or less, a 78 percent drop from last year and far below Wall

Streets estimates. The expenses of the recall and efforts to rebuild

market share are also forecast to hurt earnings and sales in 2007.

The company is also facing numerous consumer lawsuits linked to the

outbreaks.

Bauschs shares closed yesterday at $46.39, down 3 cents. Fusarium,

typically found in tropical countries, is a widely distributed

family of fungi. In the past, the most common victims of Fusarium

infections have been agricultural workers or others in rural areas

who scratch an eye with a twig or some other plant harboring the

fungus.

The potential link between Bauschs products and Fusarium infections

was first reported in Asia last year when health authorities in

Singapore and Hong Kong noticed a surge in infections among wearers

of soft contact lenses.

MoistureLoc, which Bausch first introduced in the fall of 2004, was

removed from several Asian markets in February this year. Bausch

began receiving reports of cases in the United States in March,

including some among lens users in northern states where Fusarium

infections are extremely rare.

Bausch eventually concluded that MoistureLocs formulation could

create biofilms in some circumstances that would shield the fungus

from the sterilizing agent in MoistureLoc. That could allow Fusarium

to colonize a lens case or bottle cap, the company said.

In May, Dr. G. Schultz, the director of the Food and Drug

Administration Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said that

the agency was reasonably certain that Bausch had provided a good

answer to what had gone wrong. But the authors of the journal report

said there was too little evidence to identify the exact problem

with MoistureLoc and that more research was needed.

In the accompanying commentary, Dr. Todd P. Margolis and Dr. P.

Whitcher of the Proctor Foundation for Research in Ophthalmology at

the University of California, San Francisco, called for more

rigorous study of the entire class of all-in-one lens care products.

While the simplicity of multipurpose solutions appeals to consumers,

some doctors fear the solutions make it harder to reliably sterilize

lenses than systems that use a separate cleaning agent.

Dr. Margolis said in an interview that there was some evidence that

the number of Fusarium cases began to rise before MoistureLoc was

first marketed.

There are many cases out there that havent been fully investigated,

he said.

The commentary also called for more research on the best

antimicrobial agents to treat fungal eye infections, which are far

rarer than bacterial eye infections but are still a major cause of

blindness in developing countries.

They noted that in 25 percent of the Fusarium cases reviewed in a

prominent ophthalmology journal earlier this year, doctors had at

first mistakenly prescribed an anti-inflammatory treatment that is

appropriate for bacterial infections but actually makes fungal

infections worse.

[Guest guest]

i know the feeling about hvac systems. a lot of cars are bad as well.

Call and Right ever one you can I don't doubt it's in the cars as well because

they also spray it on the lawn where I live. I got the guy card and called

SHhhhhhhhhhhh want get us any place. our voices must be heard the sick the

children List goes on

Elvira

[] Lens Care Solution Is Faulted

Lens Care Solution Is Faulted

Wilmington Morning Star - Wilmington,NC

New York Times

http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20060823/ZNYT01/608230489/1002/Business

Federal disease control experts and leading eye doctors have

formally concluded that ReNu With MoistureLoc from Bausch & Lomb was

the only contact lens solution contributing to an outbreak of

potentially blinding fungal eye infections earlier this year.

But the researchers report, to be published today in The Journal of

the American Medical Association, says it remains unclear how the

product caused the problems.

An accompanying commentary by two academic researchers, meanwhile,

argues that further study is needed to gauge the safety of various

brands of multipurpose lens care solutions on the market that, like

MoistureLoc, are used for cleaning, storing and moistening soft

contact lenses.

The research report challenged Bausch & Lombs argument that a major

factor in the outbreak was customers failure to properly clean their

lenses and regularly replace the storage solution.

Practicing good contact lens hygiene is a prudent and common-sense

measure for all contact lens wearers, irrespective of contact lens

solution used, Dr. C. Chang, a fungal disease specialist at

the Centers for Disease Control, who was lead author on the report,

said in an e-mail interview. However, the most important message for

contact lens wearers is to stop using MoistureLoc, and throw out any

MoistureLoc solution purchased before the recall.

The infections showed up in Asia last year and peaked in the United

States this spring, shortly after Bausch withdrew MoistureLoc from

the domestic market on April 13. Bausch announced a worldwide recall

a month later. The events caused the companys stock and profit

forecasts to plunge.

In some ways, the journal article is mildly positive news for

Bausch, saying the number of confirmed new infection cases has

slowed to a trickle since the recall.

The analysis also found no evidence of unusual risks with an older

Bausch product, ReNu MultiPlus, which the company has pushed as a

replacement for MoistureLoc. Since the recall, the company has been

counting on renewed growth from MultiPlus to rebuild its formerly

lucrative lens care business.

The company expressed satisfaction with the article.

We think the report confirms that Bausch & Lomb took the right

action in the interests of consumer health and safety by recalling

the MoistureLoc product, and that Bausch & Lomb can continue to

recommend its ReNu MultiPlus solution with confidence, the company

said in an e-mail response to questions about the report.

The medical journal data analysis was based on 164 confirmed cases

of Fusarium fungus eye infections in the United States from the

beginning of June 2005 to the end of June this year. The analysis

concluded that just over one-third of the patients had suffered

serious enough damage to one or both eyes to require corneal

transplants.

Before the withdrawal, about 2.3 million of the nations 30 million

soft lens wearers used MoistureLoc. The analysis did not say how

many of the most seriously injured patients used MoistureLoc, but

the product was used by a large majority of those reporting fungal

infections.

The researchers did find some evidence for the companys contention

that topping off lens care solution in contact lens storage cases

instead of replacing the solution raised the risk of fungal

infection. But they said that in other respects there was no

difference between the practices of the people infected and those

who remained healthy.

The study showed just one confirmed infection in June, and Dr. Chang

said last week that health care officials had every indication that

the outbreak was over.

But, he said, health authorities continue to hear sporadic,

unconfirmed reports of infections that appear related to use of

MoistureLoc supplies purchased before the recall.

Bausch is a long way from putting the debacle behind it.

Two weeks ago, the company said in a filing with the Securities and

Exchange Commission that pretax profits this year would fall to $80

million or less, a 78 percent drop from last year and far below Wall

Streets estimates. The expenses of the recall and efforts to rebuild

market share are also forecast to hurt earnings and sales in 2007.

The company is also facing numerous consumer lawsuits linked to the

outbreaks.

Bauschs shares closed yesterday at $46.39, down 3 cents. Fusarium,

typically found in tropical countries, is a widely distributed

family of fungi. In the past, the most common victims of Fusarium

infections have been agricultural workers or others in rural areas

who scratch an eye with a twig or some other plant harboring the

fungus.

The potential link between Bauschs products and Fusarium infections

was first reported in Asia last year when health authorities in

Singapore and Hong Kong noticed a surge in infections among wearers

of soft contact lenses.

MoistureLoc, which Bausch first introduced in the fall of 2004, was

removed from several Asian markets in February this year. Bausch

began receiving reports of cases in the United States in March,

including some among lens users in northern states where Fusarium

infections are extremely rare.

Bausch eventually concluded that MoistureLocs formulation could

create biofilms in some circumstances that would shield the fungus

from the sterilizing agent in MoistureLoc. That could allow Fusarium

to colonize a lens case or bottle cap, the company said.

In May, Dr. G. Schultz, the director of the Food and Drug

Administration Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said that

the agency was reasonably certain that Bausch had provided a good

answer to what had gone wrong. But the authors of the journal report

said there was too little evidence to identify the exact problem

with MoistureLoc and that more research was needed.

In the accompanying commentary, Dr. Todd P. Margolis and Dr. P.

Whitcher of the Proctor Foundation for Research in Ophthalmology at

the University of California, San Francisco, called for more

rigorous study of the entire class of all-in-one lens care products.

While the simplicity of multipurpose solutions appeals to consumers,

some doctors fear the solutions make it harder to reliably sterilize

lenses than systems that use a separate cleaning agent.

Dr. Margolis said in an interview that there was some evidence that

the number of Fusarium cases began to rise before MoistureLoc was

first marketed.

There are many cases out there that havent been fully investigated,

he said.

The commentary also called for more research on the best

antimicrobial agents to treat fungal eye infections, which are far

rarer than bacterial eye infections but are still a major cause of

blindness in developing countries.

They noted that in 25 percent of the Fusarium cases reviewed in a

prominent ophthalmology journal earlier this year, doctors had at

first mistakenly prescribed an anti-inflammatory treatment that is

appropriate for bacterial infections but actually makes fungal

infections worse.