Federal officials have confirmed that patients in at least three U.S. states have developed eye infections from contaminated Avastin injections. California pharmaceutical products liability attorneys now know of at least four eye infection cases in California too. According to a Veterans Affairs medical center in Los Angeles, five patients have developed eye infections from the use of contaminated Avastin, and have lost their vision as a result.

According to Avastin manufacturer, Roche Holding AG’s Genentech unit, the company has received several reports of infections leading to blindness. The company has confirmed several cases of eye infections from Miami, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee and Los Angeles, California.

The cases were first reported in three clinics in Miami, and the Florida Department of Health traced the infections to contaminated syringes. The syringes were then traced to a single pharmacy. The pharmacy had taken single-use vials of Avastin and repackaged them into 1 ml syringes. The 1 ml syringes were then distributed to hospitals.

Health officials believe that the contamination occurred while the drug was being transferred from the vials to the syringes. The vials themselves do not appear to have been contaminated. The Food and Drug Administration has confirmed at least twelve cases in Miami. There are varying reports about the number of infections in Tennessee.

The California cases involve at least five patients at a Veterans Affairs medical center in Los Angeles. In most of these cases, the patients who contracted infections were being treated with Avastin injections for eye diseases like macular degeneration. Avastin is approved as a cancer drug, but is also very often used for off-label purposes, like the treatment of age-related macular degeneration and other eye diseases. The patients who contracted the infections have lost all vision in the infected eye.

Veterans Affairs in California has released a statement saying that its Los Angeles facility has suspended the use of Avastin for treatment of macular degeneration.