The FDA issued an alert Oct. 27 warning consumers to stop using 26 over-the-counter eye drop products because of the potential risk of eye infection that could lead to partial vision loss or blindness.
The products are marketed from several major brands: CVS Health, Leader (Cardinal Health), Rugby (Cardinal Health), Rite Aid, Target Up&Up, and Velocity Pharma. The agency said investigators found "insanitary conditions" in the manufacturing facility, and test results from environmental sampling of critical drug production areas showed bacterial contamination. The FDA then recommended manufacturers recall all lots of the products on Oct. 25.
CVS, Rite Aid and Target are removing products from their store shelves and websites, while products branded as Leader, Rugby and Velocity may still be available and should not be purchased, according to the FDA alert. So far, the agency has not received any reports of eye infection linked to the products.
In late August, the FDA issued a consumer warning on two other eye drop products contaminated with bacteria and fungus.
The agency's series of warnings on eye products comes after a drug-resistant bacteria outbreak earlier this year affected 81 people, four of whom died from the infections. That outbreak was tied to several different eye drops, though the most commonly reported exposure was EzriCare Artificial Tears.