SARS-CoV-2 in tears and conjunctival secretions
During the SARS epidemic period in 2004, researchers detected the presence of the viral genome in the tears of SARS patients.
A group of researchers hypothesised and investigated the transmission also of SARS-CoV-2 through the tear and conjunctival fluidconsidering that the genome of the new SARS-CoV-2 is similar in 82% to that of the SARS virus, which is also a coronavirus, that COVID-19 can be transmitted through the mucous membranes (including the conjunctiva), that the virus is present in the body fluids of patients, and that tear fluid is a type of body fluid.
The study, published in Journal of Medical Virology, included 30 patients with established COVID-19 pneumonia admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University (China), of whom 21 were classified as common type and 9 as severe type. One patient in the cohort also presented with conjunctivitis.
Patients were swabbed every 2-3 days for tear and conjunctival secretions. The researchers identified, in the patient with common COVID-19 and conjunctivitis, two conjunctival swabs were positive for the virus and the same patient also showed positivity in sputum samples. The remaining 58 samplesfrom the 20 patients with COVID-19 common type and the 9 severe type, were all negative.
Covid and conjunctivitis
The authors of the study hypothesise that SARS-CoV-2 may be present in the lacrimal and conjunctival secretions of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia with conjunctivitis.
Ophthalmologists, therefore, who visit patients with conjunctivitis should assess the need for further investigations. These patients should be assessed for associated respiratory symptoms and their recent history, as also recommended by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Source
Dr. Carmelo Chines
Direttore responsabile
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