NEW YORK CITY — A rare and sight-threatening fungal outbreak at a New York City ophthalmology clinic has placed elective laser eye surgery patients across the country on notice, after a federal investigation published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report confirmed that three patients contracted serious fungal corneal infections following routine LASIK procedures at a single outpatient clinic in December 2024. All three patients experienced vision loss. One patient required a corneal transplant to save remaining eyesight. The organism responsible — Purpureocillium lilacinum, an environmental mold rarely seen in healthy patients — was identified in corneal cultures and traced directly to infection prevention failures inside the clinic itself.
The investigation, published in the MMWR on February 12, 2026, was conducted jointly by the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the CDC's Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. It represents only the second reported cluster of P. lilacinum keratitis cases in the United States linked to a single clinical setting — and the first in New York City.
