Contact Lens Cases Are Home To Pathogenic Amoebae

According to Spanish study, contact lens cases are frequently tainted with Acanthamoeba which cannot be killed by normal contact lens solution.
The published Journal of Medical Microbiology, describes that Acanthamoeba as one of the most common kinds of protozoa in soil, which is frequently found in fresh water.The researchers behind the study pointed out that most species eat bacteria, and some can cause infections in humans. They have revealed that one of the diseases caused by Acanthamoeba is called amoebic keratitis, an infection of the eye which is very painful and can cause blindness.
According to them, about 85 percent of all amoebic keratitis cases arise in people who wear contact lenses.
The team indicated that people who wear lenses while swimming or use tap water to rinse their lenses have more risk of infection, as amoeba is usually present in chlorinated swimming pools and domestic tap water.
According to the Dr Basilio Valladares from the University Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health of the Canary Islands, University of La Laguna, “The occurrence of this infection has increased in the past twenty years worldwide, mainly because more people are wearing contact lenses.”
“When people clean their contact lens cases in tap water, they become tainted with amoebae that nourished bacteria. They are then transferred onto the lenses and can live between the contact lens and the eye. This is a matter of concerning because commercial contact lens solutions do not kill the amoebae,” the researcher added.
For their study, the researchers observed 153 contact lens cases, 90 containing lenses, from people in Tenerife who were showing no symptoms of infection.
They observed that 65.9 percent of the cases and lenses were tainted with pathogenic Acanthamoeba, and 30 percent of the amoebae identified were highly pathogenic.
Whereas no pathogenic stressed were indicated in daily contact lenses, plenty pathogenic amoebae were cut off from monthly and bi-monthly lenses.
The two-year use lenses that were examined having a high percentage of pathogenic amoebae due to a shortage of hygiene and poor care of the lenses.
“At the moment, we are preparing a contact lens upholding solution that can effectively destroy the pathogenic Acanthamoeba species.
The researcher also added that “Studies have shown that these amoebae are more common among contact lens users in Tenerife than in Scotland, may be because of the warmer climate. The users of contact lenses are at higher risk of infection here and we wish we will be able to protect and treat the diseases caused by these amoebae more efficiently as soon as possible.”