A German doctor who participated in a study on the possibility of transmission of the emerging corona virus (that causes Covid-19 disease) through the eye said that the risk of infection with the Corona virus through the eye is small, but it is possible.
There are connections inside the head between the eyes and the nose, including the tear ducts, and Lange explained that the current study situation “has nothing to indicate that we should look at the eyes as an important outlet for the entry or exit of the virus.”
The conference, which took place from last Friday until today, witnessed online discussions on various aspects of ophthalmology.
Lange added that some studies suggest the possibility of infection via the conjunctiva, saying that it is still unclear whether the cells of the ocular surface have sufficient entry points.
He pointed out that in the study – in which he participated – no significant quantities of important receptors for the Corona virus were found in the 46 samples taken from people, namely “AEC2-” and “TMPRS-2”.
And researchers had detected evidence in the cornea of the eye for the presence of these receptors for the emerging corona virus, but they had not tested actual transmission of the virus through these receptors.
Up to now, Germany recorded 324,596 cases of the new Corona virus, of whom 9,697 died as a result of infection, while 273,500 infected people recovered.
Globally, the virus has infected 37 million and 576 thousand and 295 people since its first appearance at the end of December 2019 in China, and killed one million 78 thousand and 833 infected people, while 28 million and 181 thousand and 387 cases have recovered, according to Worldmeter.