Bausch & Lomb halts contact lens solution sales in HK

Bausch & Lomb added that it is critically important that contact lens wearers follow instructions when cleaning their contact lenses.

Eye-care product maker Bausch & Lomb has suspended sales of its ReNucontact lens solutionin Hong Kong, less than a week after suspending sales in Singapore following reports of a series of eyeinfections. 

The company halted sales of ReNu in Singapore last week after the city-state raised concerns about the product. Singapore's health ministry said on Tuesday it "strongly advises" contact lens users to stop using ReNu as a precaution.

It said 34 out of 39 people whocontracteda hard-to-treat eye infection since 2005 had used ReNu. Three of them had to undergo urgentcornea transplants.

"The sales suspension in Hong Kong is strictly voluntary and done as a precaution," a company spokeswoman said on Thursday.

A Hong Kong health department spokeswoman said the department had not seen a similar rise infungalcorneal infectioncases in Hong Kong, but is monitoring the situation in Singapore.

In Hong Kong, 12 out of 16 people who were hit by the infection since June 2005 had used the product, the department said in a statement.

Bausch & Lomb is looking at how to allow customers to return the products, but stressed that it is not a product recall.

It added that as no unusualincidenceof the fungal infection had been reported in other markets, Bausch & Lomb is not suspending sales elsewhere.

Bausch & Lomb stood by ReNu, saying investigations would put its multipurpose lens solution in the clear.

"We are confident that a thorough scientific investigation will show that ReNu is neither the cause of, nor associated with, this unusual and isolated outbreak offusarium keratitis," it said in a statement released late on Wednesday.

It added that it is critically important that contact lens wearers follow instructions when cleaning their contact lenses.

The firm said it had conducted preliminary tests on samples in the U.S. factory that supplies Singapore and found them safe, but added that complete testing could take up to 3 weeks.

Bausch & Lomb has a market capitalisation of almost US$4 billion and competes with Alcon Inc., the world's biggest eye-care products company with a market value of US$35 billion.

contact lens solution:（隱形眼睛護理藥水）

contract:to cause infection（感染）

cornea transplants:（角膜移植）

fungal corneal infection:（真菌角膜感染）

incidence:（并發率）