Why it matters: At least 55 cases of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and at least one death across 12 states in the US from May 2022 to January 2023, which doctors think could be linked to the eye drops, reported CBS News.

The bigger picture: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a potentially deadly infection caused by the bacteria, Pseudomonas.

According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Pseudomonas aeruginosa is generally treated with antibiotics, however the stinger is that it’s becoming more difficult to treat because of increasing antibiotic resistance.

What are US health authorities saying? The US Food and Drug Administration released a statement on Thursday warning against the use of two products, both manufactured by Global Pharma Healthcare.

“Using contaminated artificial tears increases risk of eye infections that could result in blindness or death,” warned the US FDA.

Action taken: Global Pharma issued a recall notice on Wednesday for both these products, on grounds of ‘Possible Contamination’.

The company has since stopped production of these eye drops, reported NDTV.

(Written with inputs from NDTV and CBS NEWS.)