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Sunscreen Warning: Health Canada advises not to use two Personnelle sunscreens

July 29, 2016

Health Canada is advising Canadians not to use an additional Personnelle sunscreen lotion (see below) because of microbial contamination. The affected sunscreen lotions were sold at Jean Coutu retail locations.

The sunscreen lotions were found to contain Lactobacillus brevis and Micrococcus luteus. Although Lactobacillus brevis does not cause any illness in humans, Micrococcus luteus may cause various infections including skin infections and occasionally serious problems, such as meningitis, septic shock (dangerously low blood pressure in response to an infection), septic arthritis (infection in a joint usually caused by bacteria), pneumonia endocarditis (inflammation of the lining of the heart valves most often caused by infection), or sepsis (a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection). The risk may be higher for children and individuals with a weakened immune system.