Fungal Endophthalmitis Outbreak after Cataract Surgery, South Korea, 2020

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Emerg Infect Dis
• Personal Author:
  Yoon, Soo Jeong ; Kim, Soo Hyun ; Bahk, Hyun Jung ; Ahn, Yeong Seo ; Lee, Ji Joo ; Kim, Hye Jin ; Lim, Ha Jin ; Choi, Min Ji ; Shin, Jong Hee ; Lee, Yeon-Kyeng
• Description:
  In November 2020, an unusual increase in fungal endophthalmitis cases after cataract surgery was reported to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, South Korea. We initiated an outbreak investigation to identify the cause. We identified 156 cases nationwide, 62 confirmed and 94 probable. Most case-patients were exposed during surgery to ocular viscoelastic devices (OVDs) from the same manufacturer (company A). We isolated Fusarium spp. from 50 confirmed cases. Molecular identification of 39 fungal isolates from clinical samples and 13 isolates from OVDs confirmed F. oxysporum caused the infections. The risk ratio for fungal endophthalmitis from company A's OVDs was 86.0 (95% CI 27.4-256.9), much higher than risk from other manufacturers' products. We determined this fungal endophthalmitis outbreak was caused by a contaminated lot of OVDs and recommended discontinued use of this product. Early recognition of outbreaks and joint responses from related government agencies can reduce risk for fungal endophthalmitis.
• Subjects:
  • Cataract Extraction
  • Endophthalmitis
  • Eye Infections, Fungal
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Cataract
• Source:
  Emerg Infect Dis. 2022; 28(11):2226-2233
• Pubmed ID:
  36285883
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC9622257
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Republic of Korea
• Volume:
  28
• Issue:
  11
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/122857/cdc_122857_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.31 MB]
• Collection(s):
  Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:1b36defd78eb301265f4eac19a3c2b6c00816cd829f2e83faf3c5eb71a707542