One million annual eye infections reported in US

Newly released statistics in the US have suggested around one million eye infections occur in the country annually.

According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study, 930,000 Americans visited their doctor and outpatient clinic due to keratitis in the year 2010, while 58,000 reached the emergency room.

CDC analysed national databases of outpatient care centres and emergency rooms to develop the first national estimates of how much keratitis occurs in the country. Results were published in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report today (November 13), which noted that infection was most likely to occur when contact lenses are worn too long or are not cared for correctly.