§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether contact lens wearers are at risk, when washing their face with tap water, of developing a serious eye infection caused by the water borne amoeba acanthamoeba keratitis; and what is being done to reduce the incidence of acanthamoeba keratitis in tap water [147939]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThere is always a risk of contracting acanthamoeba keratitis when contact lenses are exposed to water as acanthamoeba can be found in chlorinated swimming pools, baths, showers and bottled water as well as in domestic tap water; with approximately one in 30,000 contact lens wearers. 177W contracting the disease. It is believed that any increased risk for contact lens wearers by washing their face with tap water is minimal.
Contact lens solutions have been developed in recent years to take account of this. All contact lens wearers are advised to only use recognised cleaning solutions and follow practitioners' directions when cleaning their lenses.
Surface water is treated in a manner to minimise the risk of parasites entering the distribution system and the main risk to water lies with 'natural' contamination of water in domestic storage.