http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Health/story?id=1807992&page=1

April 5, 2005 - Allison Bregman-Rodriguez had felt pain before, but
never this intense.

"It felt like lightning struck my eye," she said. "It was really
painful. My eye was red and swollen."

As it turned out, Bregman-Rodriguez had an eye infection caused by
fungus called fusarium, which is commonly found in plant material and
soil in tropical and subtropical areas. Cases are on the rise in the
United States and Asia, striking healthy people who wear soft contact
lenses.

This fungal infection doesn't spread the way conjunctivitis does, said
Arthur Epstein, an optometrist who chairs the contact lens and cornea
section of the American Optometric Association.

"It's not contagious in a conventional way, so it doesn't spread like
wildfire, like a highly conventional virus would," he said. "This
fungus is actually everywhere. We are subjected to these spores
constantly. Healthy people can usually fend against them. That's why we
rarely encounter the fungus. But now we're seeing healthy people come
down with the disease. That has worried us."

The fungus grows within the eye's cornea. Doctors who prescribe
antibiotics for their patients to treat eye symptoms without first
culturing the eye to see whether something is there could be putting
their patients at risk because the fungal infection could go untreated.

"What's tricky about this fungus is that the symptoms are almost the
same as a normal bacterial infection in the eye," Epstein said.

The symptoms of the fungal infection include pain, redness in eye,
light sensitivity, blurred vision, discharge and lesions. The fungus
can cause permanent eye damage, even blindness.

Bregman-Rodriguez was treated in time, so she won't lose her sight, but
her eyes have developed permanent scarring. She says she will never
wear contact lenses again.

"I'm just lucky that I'm able to see," she said.

Precautions to Take

For contact lens wearers:

Wash hands before touching lenses.

Keep lens case clean by emptying it, washing it out, and air-drying it
between uses.