THE ESSENTIAL
- As of December 21, 54,613 new cases of Covid-19 have been identified in France.
- Coronavirus is an infectious disease caused by the Sars-CoV-2 virus.
In some cases, Covid-19 can lead to serious complications such as respiratory failure, or even acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), heart rhythm disorders, neurological damage or bacterial superinfections.
Eyes are susceptible to coronavirus
In a new study published in the scientific journal Nature communications, researchers have looked at the consequences of Sars-CoV-2 infection on the ocular sphere. They also investigated whether the eyes can serve as a route of infection for the virus.
In a clinical trial in animal models, scientists demonstrated that the eyes and trigeminal nerves are susceptible to the virus. The coronavirus could therefore infect the eye through the respiratory tract, via the brain.
“The ACE2 receptor is what the virus attaches to to infect a particular cell in a tissue or organ. This receptor is found in abundance in the lungs, tonsils, nasal cavity, kidneys and heart, which explains why many reports have been published for these organs. But we found that ACE2 receptors are also present in the eye, thus facilitating infection.”explained Professor Suresh Mahalingam, co-author of the study and director of research at the Menzies Health Institute of Griffith University (Australia).
Covid-19: infection could cause temporary visual impairment
According to the conclusions of the study, the impairment of vision in cases of Covid-19 is due to inflammation of the optic nerves, abnormal accumulation of fluid and infiltration of immune cells which lead to a retinal thickening.
“The virus can infect the eye through the nerve tissues located at the back of the eyeball which play a role in the visual aspects of the eye and sending signals for visual purposes (…) The result of this inflammation retinal was a reduction in depth perception due to blurred vision”, noted Professor Suresh Mahalingam.
However, the scientists indicated that this blurred vision appears to be only symptomatic, and not a permanent degeneration of the eye tissue.