COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory infection, but in a new study, researchers found the virus can also infiltrate the eyes.
They reported a patient in China who developed an acute glaucoma attack soon after recovering from COVID-19.
Her doctors had to perform surgery to treat the condition, and tests of her eye tissue showed evidence of SARS-CoV-2.
The case shows proof that COVID-19 can also infect ocular tissues in addition to the respiratory system.
The research was conducted by a team at the General Hospital of the Central Theater Command in Wuhan, China.
The patient was a 64-year-old woman who was hospitalized for COVID-19 on Jan. 31. Eighteen days later, her symptoms had fully resolved, and throat swabs turned up negative for SARS-CoV-2.
About a week later, though, she developed pain and vision loss in one eye, and then in her other eye a few days afterward.
The patient landed in the hospital again, where she was diagnosed with acute angle-closure glaucoma and cataract.
Medication failed to bring down her eye pressure, so her doctors performed surgery—taking tissue samples in the process.
Tests of those samples turned up evidence that SARS-CoV-2 had invaded the eye tissues.
While it’s not clear how the virus got into the patient’s eyes, the experts agreed the case underscores the importance of eye protection.
For health care providers, that means goggles and face shields; for the average person, it’s regular hand-washing and keeping the hands away from the eyes.
That advice will reduce the chance of any virus, including cold and flu bugs, from coming into contact with the eyes.
One author of the study is Dr. Ying Yan.
The study is published in JAMA Ophthalmology.
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