Anti-Acanthamoeba activity of contact lens solutions
Parasitology Research Programme, University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Correspondence to: Professor M B Markus, Parasitology Research Programme, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa.
Accepted for publication 4 March 1998
AIMS
This study was undertaken to investigate
the effects of contact lens disinfecting solutions on strains of
Acanthamoeba from the United Kingdom and southern Africa
and to compare the results with those of other researchers. No
information was previously available for southern African isolates.
METHODS11 contact lens solutions were tested on
cysts of 10 strains of Acanthamoeba.
RESULTSNot all solutions used in the study were
effective, with some for hard and gas permeable contact lenses being
more satisfactory than those for soft contact lenses. The most
effective of the gas permeable and hard contact lens solutions tested
was Transoak (0.01% (wt/vol) benzalkonium chloride), which killed
cysts of all strains within 4 hours of exposure. Oxysept 1 (31 mg
hydrogen peroxide/ml) was the best soft contact lens solution tested.
It eliminated cysts of certain strains within 4 hours, whereas cysts of
other strains were only inactivated within either 8 or 72 hours.
CONCLUSIONSManufacturers should be aware of the
killing time for Acanthamoeba by contact lens solutions
and should provide appropriate guidelines for the use thereof. The
killing time for cysts of the African and UK isolates studied is, in
general, similar. Therefore, it must in the present state of knowledge
be assumed that usage guidelines suggested in the UK are also
appropriate for travellers to South Africa and for local residents
in South Africa.
© 1998 by British Journal of Ophthalmology
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