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A St. Louis woman recently filed a lawsuit against Bausch & Lomb, alleging that the company''s ReNu with MoistureLoc contact solution caused an eye infection that eventually required a corneal transplant.

Marguerite Likes, who used the MoistureLoc solution for seven years, developed a rare fungal eye infection known as Fusarium keratitis last October. When four months of repeated attempts to treat the infection failed, Likes'' only remaining option was a corneal transplant.

“I do not read anymore. I don''t needlepoint anymore. Oh, I can do it for five minutes, but I get a pretty good headache,” she said.

Bausch & Lomb halted sales of the solution in April after a federal investigation revealed a link between the product and the Fusarium infection. A month later, the company permanently pulled the solution from the shelves.

More than 120 cases of the rare eye infection have been linked to the MoistureLoc product. Experts estimate that approximately 50 percent of those cases will require a corneal transplant.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to understand why the solution causes the infection but recently pointed to possible problems at the company''s manufacturing plant.

Likes'' personal injury and product liability lawsuit was filed on June 9, 2006, in a St. Louis federal court. The lawsuit claims that Bausch & Lomb was negligent and failed to warn consumers of the risk of the Fusarium infection.

A number of lawsuits have already been filed against the company, with one alleging that the MoistureLoc solution caused eye loss.