Outbreak of keratomycosis attributable to Fusarium solani in the French West Indies.

PURPOSE: We report an unusual increase in the number of cases of keratomycosis attributable to Fusarium solani in contact lens wearers.

DESIGN

Observational case series.

METHODS

Between November 2005 and May 2006, 14 corneal abscesses were reported at the University Hospital Center of Fort-de-France. Twelve patients were contact lens wearers, and 10 used Bausch & Lomb (Rochester, New York, USA) ReNu with MoistureLoc. Corneal scrapings were collected for microbiological analyses.

RESULTS

In six months, five abscesses attributable to Fusarium solani in contact lens wearers, using Bausch & Lomb ReNu with MoistureLoc as contact lens solution, were reported.

CONCLUSIONS

This study reports an epidemic of keratomycosis attributable to Fusarium solani among contact lens wearers in the Caribbean, during the same timeframe as a similar epidemic in Asia and North America. We are unaware of previous report of this phenomenon and could find no reference to it in a computerized search utilizing MEDLINE.