One person in the UK has died and dozens more have been left sick by a “superbug” outbreak linked to contaminated eye drops. Health bosses say the crisis has been traced to three different eye drops made in India for people with dry eyes.

The drops are believed to have been carrying an antibiotic-resistant bug that can prove fatal for immunocompromised patients.

As reported by the Mail Online, experts at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) believe the outbreak is now over with the situation at its worst in the autumn of last year when the products were originally recalled.

No details on the patient who died were released.

But a contributing factor to their death was listed as burkholderia cenocepacia, which is a type of bacteria naturally resistant to the antibiotics normally used to treat such infections.

The drops were produced by Indiana Ophthalmics, a company based in India.

As a result, various batches of AaCarb, Aacomer and Puroptics branded carbomer eye gels were affected. 

They are typically given to patients experiencing dry eyes and can be purchased online for around £4.50. 

The UKHSA stated that as of March 21, there were 52 confirmed cases linked to the use of the eye drops in the UK. And another six cases were listed as “probable”.

It is reported that the youngest patient to fall ill was a baby, while the oldest was 91.

The majority of the affected patients were already in hospital being treated for something else.

They were then administered the eye drops by staff who were unaware they were using a contaminated product.

Of the 52 cases, 25 were noted by the UKHSA as having “clinically significant infections” caused by burkholderia cenocepacia.

These included eye infections, ulcers in the eyeballs, conjunctivitis and a serious “deep tissue infection”.

Even more concerning was the fact that nine patients experienced respiratory infections and four more had blood poisoning. 

The majority of the cases were detected between October and December last year but one occurred as early as January 2023. 

It wasn’t until the surge of cases that officials were able to trace the outbreak to the eye drops.

Indiana Ophthalmics then issued a voluntary recall of their three brands of carbomer eye gel in November.

In an update provided yesterday (April 2), the UKHSA stated that the outbreak has now slowed, with the last case spotted in February. 

In line with this, they withdrew their advice on restricting the use of carbomer eye gel. 

However, officials will continue to keep an eye out for any new infections. 

This is not the first time Indian-based eye drop manufacturers have been linked to infections.

As reported, there was a string of eye infections linked to death and blindness in the US traced to products made by Global Pharma Healthcare in India in the spring of last year.