Coronavirus found in woman’s eye after nasal swabs no longer detected it, report says
Italy’s first coronavirus patient tested positive for COVID-19 in her eye days after it was undetectable in her nose, according to a new report.
The 65-year-old woman arrived in Italy from Wuhan on Jan. 23 and was admitted to the hospital a week later with a cough, stuffy nose, sore throat and pink eye, the report said.
Doctors took swabs from her eyes and found she had coronavirus in her eye, the report said. They continued to collect swabs and her pink eye cleared up by the 20th day. There were traces of the virus in her eye until her 21st day at the hospital, and it showed up again on the 27th day, after it had already been undetectable in her nasal swabs.
“We found that ocular fluids from SARS-CoV-2-infected patients may contain infectious virus, and hence may be a potential source of infection,” the authors of the report wrote. “These findings highlight the importance of control measures, such as avoiding touching the nose, mouth, and eyes and frequent hand washing.”
Viruses can spread from the nose to the eyes and vice versa, W. David Hardy, an infectious disease specialist and adjunct professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, told The Washington Post.
Hardy told the Post that the virus doesn’t do as much damage to the eyes as it does to the throat and lungs.
“The cells that are inside the eye are similar but not the same,” Hardy said, according to The Washington Post. “When it gets into the eye, it doesn’t cause nearly the same amount of destruction as it does to cells in the respiratory system.”
Pink eye has been linked to coronavirus, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, McClatchy News reported.
“Several published reports and a recent news article suggest that SARS-CoV-2 can cause conjunctivitis, either as an early sign of infection, or during hospitalization for severe COVID-19 disease,” the American Academy of Ophthalmology wrote. “Thus, it is possible that SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted to the conjunctiva by aerosol or through hand to eye contact.”
The academy already warned ophthalmologists that they could be the first health providers to treat coronavirus patients if they develop pink eye symptoms.
“As affected patients may initially be recommended to eye clinics or emergency departments, ophthalmologists would serve as the first providers to evaluate patients possibly infected with the coronavirus,” the academy wrote.
This story was originally published April 24, 2020 at 1:33 PM with the headline "Coronavirus found in woman’s eye after nasal swabs no longer detected it, report says."