EyeWorld India June 2019 Issue

36 EWAP JUNE 2019 ments and the farming industry, a chemical injury in the factory or an agricultural abrasion may lead to fungal infection. In these cases, the use of safety glasses and appropriate eye protection is important. The use of newer fluoroquinolones in keratitis Fluoroquinolones have become an integral part of treating corneal infections. As the newer class of fourth-generation fluoroquinolo- nes have been enhanced, they have a slightly broader spectrum of coverage. As mentioned earlier, moxifloxacin showed the greatest resistance in the ACSIKS data. For Dr. Tan in Singapore, he is moving away from moxifloxacin Developed countries can still take preventable measures In Singapore and other developed countries, Dr. Tan emphasizes that prevention measures should focus on proper contact lens wear and appropriate regulatory oversight in the purchasing and prescribing of contact lenses. In these countries, there are prob- lems with buying contact lenses through the internet and with young teenagers sharing colored contact lenses. By having proper contact lens hygiene as well as qualified optometrists and contact lens practitioners who fit lenses appropriately, infection rates can decrease. Another related public health measure that can help to prevent infection is work-related trauma. In industrial work environ- Additionally, there also is a need for budget allocation for antibiotic resistance research. Dr. Garg has been working on a collaborative project with the aim of using polymeric formula- tions to improve drug retention and penetration into the corneal tissue. “We have polymeric ma- terial where the terminal ends are functionalized, and these poly- meric material bind bacteria and fungi. The binding is specific, and we are trying to tag nanoparticles to these hyperbranched polymeric material so that when they enter the cornea, they will bind to the bacteria releasing the nanoformu- lation, thereby working as a target for drug delivery,” he said. With increased funds for research, the development of both new and ex- isting drugs can increase efficacy in treating infections. “ The findings from ACSIKS give us some important tools as far as strategies that need to be adopted in order to prevent blindness from corneal infections. ” Prashant Garg, MD New Perspectives on Microbial Organisms and Ophthalmic Infections Using ACSIKS Data Supplement to EyeWorld Asia-Pacific Summer 2019 Supple ent to Eye orld sia-Pacific June 2019 Figure 1: Use of bacteria binding polymers for drug delivery Source: Prashant Garg, MD Copyright 2019 APACRS. All rights reserved. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the editor, editorial board, or publisher, and in no way imply endorsement by EyeWorld, Asia-Pacific or APACRS.