Outbreak of fungal infection at laser eye clinic blinds multiple patients, CDC emergency

Multiple patients at a laser eye clinic in New York City have been blinded in a fungal outbreak, health authorities have reported.

In a February 2026 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC confirmed three patients contracted fungal infections in their corneas – the dome-shaped outer layer in the front of the eye – after undergoing routine LASIK procedures at an outpatient clinic in December 2024.

All three patients at the clinic, which is not identified in the report, experienced vision loss, with one needing a corneal transplant to potentially save their eyesight. It’s unclear if their sight was restored. 

The patients were infected with Purpureocillium lilacinum (P lilacinum), an environmental mold typically found in fields, soils, forests, deserts and ocean sediments. 

The agency said the fungus grew in cultures taken from two of the patients’ corneas and said the outbreak was likely due to contaminated equipment such as saline bottles, refrigerators and surgical devices.

According to the CDC, the New York City Health Department evaluated the clinic’s infection prevention and control (IPC) practices and found several ‘deficiencies,’ which included incomplete logs of equipment being sterilized, absence of approved disinfectants, use of expired eye medications and potential non-sterile water from humidifiers.

Environmental cultures were negative for P lilacinum, but the fungus was detected in the tubing of a surgical device, according to the report. 

The CDC report stated that once the clinic implemented proper IPC guidelines, no further illnesses were reported. 

An unnamed eye clinic in New York City reported fungal infections that caused patients to go blind (stock image)

According to the CDC report, in December 2024, the clinic notified the NYC Health Department of three patients who developed fungal keratitis, also known as a fungal infection of the cornea, after elective laser eye surgery.

The clinic has just one ophthalmologist and one treatment room, the report states. 

The first patient (Patient A) reported symptoms including pain and vision loss two days after surgery, while patients B and C became symptomatic three days after their respective surgeries. 

The clinic paused surgeries after identifying infections in patients A and B. 

Almost two weeks after Patient A’s surgery, the clinic’s lab tests detected mold and notified the health department. 

All three patients were given the topical antifungal medications voriconazole and natamycin, and one underwent a corneal transplant, which replaces a damaged cornea with tissue from a human donor.  

It’s unclear if the patients regained their sight. 

Laser eye surgery – also known as LASIK – involves numbing the eyes and using a specialized laser to create a thin flap on the surface of the cornea and remove layers of tissue to match a person’s unique vision prescription. 

The cornea, however, is particularly vulnerable to infections because it lacks its own blood supply and relies almost entirely on tears for immune defense, leaving it largely unprotected against threats. 

The CDC said P lilacinum is most often reported in association with contact use, eye trauma, eye surgery and being immunocompromised. 

There are two strains of the fungus used in agriculture in the US, which the CDC said may increase its presence in the environment. 

The agency said because the fungus is known to cause drug-resistant infections, it ‘should be considered as a potential cause of infection after eye surgery, even before definitive culture identification.’