Identification of COVID-19 Virus in Human Intraocular Tissues

The article by Araujo-Silva et al in this issue of JAMA Ophthalmology provides important evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in the retina of patients who have died of severe COVID-19 infection. There have been numerous reports describing ophthalmic disorders in patients infected with COVID-19 that are thought to be associated with the virus. These include conjunctivitis, keratoconjunctivitis, blepharitis, uveitis, retinal vascular occlusion, optic neuritis, and cranial nerve dysfunction. In some of these studies, COVID-19 has been identified in ocular tissues, particularly the conjunctiva, typically using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction testing. Some of these reports infer that COVID-19 is the putative causal agent of the ocular symptoms, based on a temporal association with infection. Retinal vascular occlusions might be explained by the propensity of COVID-19 to disrupt vascular endothelial cell function resulting in thromboembolic events, a common problem in patients with severe COVID-19. The true incidence of ocular disorders in patients severely ill with COVID-19 remains unknown, since many of these patients are too ill or die of their infections and the highly contagious nature of the virus may limit ophthalmic examinations.
Source: JAMA Ophthalmology - Category: Opthalmology Source Type: research