An expert in eye infections from Moorfields has been interviewed by two radio broadcasters this week on the subject of Acanthamoeba keratitis as research continues into its increased incidence.
Nicole Carnt, post-doctoral research optometrist at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, told listeners of the increase in the number of infections being seen in hospitals (News 05.09.14), with her research looking into new risk factors and host immune responses to the organism.
One caller phoned into Mark Forrest on BBC Radio Cornwall last Thursday to tell the story of her medical student daughter who suffered from keratitis after contamination with tap water.
‘Some people have very mild conditions where it might last only a few months whereas other people have disease than can stretch on for a year and they get very severe complications associated with that.’ Carnt said: ‘We’re collecting DNA from patients who have had Acanthamoeba and a control group of contact lens wearers without the disease and we’ll be looking for small changes in the genes that control inflammation in the eye.’
Researchers were also taking water samples from UK homes to test changes in the level of the organism in the environment. Early findings showed a quarter of the domestic house samples had Acanthamoeba in the system, with full results due in the next three to six months.
‘We’re seeing an increase not only at Moorfields but at other centres in the UK and also our collaborators in the US are saying the same thing to us,’ Carnt added.
She also discussed the issue on Stuart Linnell at Breakfast on BBC Radio Northampton.