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Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) surgery improves vision by reshaping the lens of the eye; about 600,000 such procedures are performed annually in the U.S.
On February 5, 2015, the Toledo–Lucas County Health Department in Ohio was informed of Mycobacterium chelonae eye infections in two of the six patients who had undergone LASIK surgery at the same clinic 4 weeks earlier. A review of procedures used in that clinic did not reveal the source of infection. Subsequently, two more cases of M. chelonae infection were reported from the same clinic. All four patients had experienced eye pain after surgery.
Public health staff noted that the clinic used two consumer-grade reservoir-style humidifiers to maintain the high humidity recommen…