Eye-eating fungus

I just got an e-mail from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta this morning, informing me of an outbreak of a nasty type of fungal eye infection.

It seems that in the past three months there has been an upsurge in infections of the cornea, that clear layer of the eye through which light passes, caused by a type of fungus called “Fusarium.” In the past year, there have been a total of 109 people with suspected Fusarium corneal infections under investigation. About 93 percent of them wore contact lenses, but 7 percent did not. In nearly a third of patients, the infection became so bad as to destroy their cornea, and require a corneal transplant. That’s bad.

Fungal infections anywhere in the body can be recalcitrant. Fungi are difficult to get rid of, and the medication that we have do not often work very quickly. Athletes’ foot is a very common type of fungal infection. The skin of the feet peel and the toenails get brown or white and start to separate from the toe. Anyone with athlete’s foot can tell you that usually, they’ve had it for years. And although they use medication often, it never really gets cured. A fungal infection of the eye can be devastating for similar reasons. The fungus is very difficult to kill. And around the eye, any infection of the delicate structures involved with vision can lead to permanent loss of sight.

Fungal infections are more common in warm tropical climates like in the Mariana Islands. Although this current outbreak seems to be focused among contact lens wearers, I see one or two fungal infections of the eye every year that are from people who are out bush-cutting or just working in the yard when they get hit by a piece of plant. It’s often not a serious injury, maybe just a little scratch. But the fungus that lives on the plant then gets into the eye, invades the cornea and can cause blindness. This is one of the big reasons that you want something between your eyeballs and the rest of the world when you’re working in the yard. Safety goggles are best, but even sunglasses can help protect your eyes from that blade of grass carrying that eye-eating fungus.

If you’re a contact lens wearer, remove your lenses every night, and throw them away on the recommended schedule. Be meticulous in cleaning them and use sterile cleaning solutions, not home-made ones. And if you develop redness or pain, see an eye specialist immediately. Delays can help the fungus take hold. And no one wants their cornea to be lunch for a fungus.

(David Khorram, MD is a board certified ophthalmologist and director of Marianas Eye Institute. Comments and questions are welcome. Call 235-9090 or email him through www.MarianasEye.com. Copyright © 2006 David Khorram)