Streptococcus Endophthalmitis Outbreak

Our attorneys are investigating an outbreak of Steptococcus endophthalmitis (severe eye infection) in at least 12 people who were treated at 3 eye clinics in the Miami, Florida area with repackaged Avastin (bevacizumab). Some of them lost all vision due to the eye infection.

Stapholococcus endophthalmitis is an inflammation of the internal coats of the eye caused by Stapholococcus bacteria. It quickly damages the eye and often causes blindness. Contamination of any medical product with Stapholococcus bacteria is negligence and wrongdoers should be held accountable.

Injection of Repackaged Avastin Caused Blindness

All 12 of the outbreak cases had injections of repackaged Avastin into their eyes. Evidence suggests that the Avastin injections were contaminated with Streptococcus bacteria. Investigators traced the tainted injections to a single pharmacy located in Hollywood, Florida, that repackaged the Avastin from sterile injectable 100 mg/4 mL, single-use, preservative-free vials into individual 1 mL single-use syringes.

The pharmacy distributed the repackaged Avastin to multiple eye clinics for use in treating patients. This means others may be part of this Streptococcus endophthalmitis outbreak.

Repackaging sterile drugs without proper aseptic technique can compromise product sterility, potentially putting patients at risk for microbial infections. In this case, at least 12 people have been blinded due to the negligence of the pharmacy that repackaged the Avastin, the docotors who used it, and possibly the manufacturer if it encouraged the off-label use (Avistan is a cancer drug and is not approved by the FDA for treatment of macular degeneration).

If you or a family member contracted Streptococcus endophthalmitis after treatment with Avastin, contact our attorneys for a free consultation.

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