Microbiota differs between contact lens wearers, nonwearers

The microbial structure of the ocular conjunctiva is different in contact lens wearers compared to those who do not wear contacts, according to a poster presented at the American Society for Microbiology meeting in New Orleans.

Shin and colleagues examined the microbiota structures of nine participants who wore contact lenses and 11 nonwearers.

As detailed in the poster, researchers took 250 swab samples of the conjunctiva, skin under the eye and contact lenses. They conducted V4 16S rRNA sequencing (Illumina MiSeq) to determine the bacteria present.

Results showed that each sample yielded an average of 21,680 reads. Researchers reported more Methylobacterium, Lactobacillus, Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas bacteria and less Corynebacterium, Streptococcus, Hemophilus and Staphylococcus in contact lens wearers compared to nonwearers.

"Wearing contact lenses alters the microbial structure in the ocular conjunctiva, making it more similar to skin microbiota," they concluded. "Further research is needed to elucidate the impact of these differences on ocular health."

“Our research clearly shows that putting a foreign object, such as a contact lens, on the eye is not a neutral act,” Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello, PhD, senior study investigator and NYU Langone microbiologist, said in a press release issued by the medical center. “What we hope our future experiments will show is whether these changes in the eye microbiome of lens wearers are due to fingers touching the eye or from the lens’s direct pressure affecting and altering the immune system in the eye and what bacteria are suppressed or are allowed to thrive."

Jack Dodick, MD, professor and chair of ophthalmology at NYU Langone and a co-investigator of the study, continued: “There has been an increase in the prevalence of corneal ulcers following the introduction of soft contact lenses in the 1970s. A common pathogen implicated has been Pseudomonas. This study suggests that because the offending organisms seem to emanate from the skin, greater attention should be directed to eyelid and hand hygiene to decrease the incidence of this serious occurrence."

Reference:

Shin H, Catalano D, Price K, Albert L, Dodick J, Park L, Dominguez-Bello MG. Microbiota on human eyes differ between contact lens wearers and non-lens wearers. Poster presented at: American Society for Microbiology meeting; May 31, 2015; New Orleans, LA.