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.

What Is Purpureocillium lilacinum and Why Is It So Dangerous to the Eye?

Purpureocillium lilacinum (formerly known as Paecilomyces lilacinus) is an environmental mold found widely in soil, decaying plant matter, and clinical settings where infection prevention protocols are inadequate. Under normal circumstances, it is largely harmless to healthy individuals with intact immune systems. But the eye is a uniquely vulnerable organ — particularly during and after surgical procedures where the corneal surface is opened, reshaped, or otherwise disturbed. When this mold gains access to corneal tissue, it can proliferate aggressively and resist standard antifungal treatment.

That drug resistance is among the most alarming features of this organism. Antifungal susceptibility testing (AFST) performed during the NYC investigation found that the P. lilacinum isolates recovered from patients displayed intrinsic resistance to certain commonly used antifungals, complicating treatment and prolonging the time patients lived with active infection in their eyes. All three patients experienced vision loss during the course of their illness. One required a full corneal transplant — a major surgical procedure with its own risks and a recovery timeline measured in months.

Symptoms in the first case began as early as two days after surgery: eye pain, redness, and rapidly worsening vision. The clinic had already suspected infection based on postoperative assessments before the laboratory confirmed the fungal cause. That timeline is characteristic of this organism — it can establish infection and begin damaging corneal tissue quickly after exposure.

How Did Contamination Enter the Clinic?

The CDC investigation team examined the clinic's infection prevention and control (IPC) practices, performed environmental cultures on a saline bottle, a refrigerator, and a surgical device, and used whole genome sequencing (WGS) to compare patient isolates with environmental samples. The investigation identified IPC deficiencies that potentially resulted in mold exposure — but the full findings of exactly which equipment or products served as the contamination source have not been publicly disclosed in detail, pending possible regulatory action. The investigation report notes that after the clinic implemented corrective IPC measures, no further cases were identified.

For the patients themselves, the corrective measures came too late. Their cases highlight a structural vulnerability in the U.S. outpatient surgery sector: LASIK and other elective refractive procedures are among the most commonly performed surgeries in the country, with an estimated 700,000 to 800,000 procedures performed annually — the vast majority in standalone ambulatory clinics that operate under regulatory oversight significantly less intensive than hospital-based surgical suites.

The Broader Problem: Outpatient Clinics and Fungal Infection Risk

This outbreak is not the first warning sign. In the same MMWR volume (February 12, 2026), the CDC also published a report on a pseudo-outbreak of Purpureocillium lilacinum skin infections at a dermatology clinic in Washington State in 2024, again linked to IPC deficiencies. That two separate P. lilacinum outbreaks — at two different clinic types in two different states — were confirmed and published within the same report period reflects a pattern that public health officials are watching carefully.

The CDC has long-published infection prevention and control guidance for ambulatory surgical centers. The guidance addresses everything from sterile instrument handling and disinfection protocols to the environmental controls needed to prevent mold contamination of surgical fields. The fact that IPC deficiencies were identified at the NYC ophthalmology clinic despite the existence of clear federal guidance suggests that compliance monitoring of outpatient settings remains inadequate. Unlike hospitals, which face Joint Commission inspections and CMS oversight tied to Medicare participation, standalone LASIK and elective surgery clinics operate in a regulatory gap.

What New Yorkers — and Anyone Considering LASIK — Need to Know

Fungal eye infections after LASIK are rare but not impossible, and the aftermath of this outbreak provides a practical checklist for patients considering elective laser eye surgery anywhere in the country:

• Ask your clinic directly about its infection prevention protocols. Any reputable provider should be able to describe its instrument sterilization process, the environmental controls in its surgical suite, and when its last independent inspection or audit occurred.

• Be alert to symptoms after surgery. Eye pain, increasing redness, sensitivity to light, or any worsening of vision in the days following a procedure should trigger immediate contact with the surgical team and, if symptoms are not quickly addressed, an independent evaluation.

• Ask about fungal culture testing if you develop postoperative symptoms. Standard bacterial cultures may miss fungal organisms. Specifically requesting fungal cultures when symptoms suggest infection can prevent the diagnostic delays that allowed this outbreak to worsen before identification.

• Report concerns to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene at nyc.gov/health or nationally via the CDC's infection control resources.

Conclusion: A Regulatory Gap That Is Costing Patients Their Sight

Three people went into an outpatient clinic in New York City for an elective procedure to see more clearly. All three left with damaged vision. One needed a corneal transplant. The mold that caused this was neither exotic nor untreatable in all cases — it was an environmental contaminant that entered a surgical field because someone failed to follow established protocols. That is a systems failure, not an act of God.

The outpatient surgery sector is one of the fastest-growing segments of American healthcare. Millions of Americans undergo procedures in these settings every year, with significant confidence that the regulatory infrastructure is sufficient to protect them. The New York City LASIK outbreak, documented in federal surveillance data and published by the CDC, is a data point that should trigger a serious conversation about whether that confidence is warranted — and whether oversight of ambulatory surgical clinics is adequate to the volume and complexity of procedures now performed in them.

▌ RELATED ON MEDICALDAILY.COM

→ Fungal Keratitis After LASIK: What Every Patient Should Ask Before Surgery

→ The Rise of Ambulatory Surgery Centers: Convenience at What Cost?

→ Purpureocillium: The Little-Known Mold Now on the CDC's Radar

→ Fungal Infections in Healthcare Settings: A Growing and Underreported Threat