A bacterium responsible for corneal damage is very resistant to disinfectant products intended for lenses. An alarm study on the time needed to destroy it: 4 hours.
Lens cleaning and disinfection products are less powerful than expected. According to a study presented at the Annual Congress of the Society for General Microbiology in Liverpool (UK), some germs have long resistance to agents in solutions. This is the case with a strain of the germ Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can cause severe keratitis (corneal damage).
More than 4 hours: this is the time it takes to eliminate all the bacteria deposited on a lens. The 4 million French people who wear contact lenses should take this into account. In fact, 8 of the 9 bacteria tested were killed in 10 minutes of immersion. The reference strain was eradicated within one minute. But it took more than 4 hours to overcome the most dangerous strain 39016 which causes severe and prolonged keratitis. It is, according to researchers, responsible for 25% of reported keratitis in the UK. Most often, they occur in contact lens wearers.
“Microbial keratitis can be devastating for a patient,” said Professor Craig Winstanley, who led the research. “It is important that the risk of developing this disease is reduced in contact lens wearers, by improving disinfectant solutions. This is not the first time that maintenance solutions have been singled out. Last January, the magazine 60 million consumers reported an increased risk of keratitis associated with the use of 7 different brands.
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