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The truth is that we still know how SARS-CoV-2 works and scientists suggest that the main way the virus spreads is through respiratory drops or small particles discharged from the mouth or nose of infected people and then inhaled by those who surround.
But that’s not the only way the virus circulates
The same drops and infectious particles they can land on surfaces and be transferred to touch, which means an infection could occur if you touch something with viral particles and then touch your mouth, nose, or eyes, the CDC says.
Although this general advice is repeated by health authorities around the world, there are still many things we don’t know about how the coronavirus could enter the body. through the eyes , although scientists suggest it is “biologically plausible”.
However, new evidence suggests that at least part of the eye may be resistant to SARS-CoV-2.
In a new study, researchers at the University of Washington in St. Louis found that the cornea – which covers the iris and pupil – appears to be. resistant to coronavirus infection in experiments. “Our results do not show that all corneas are resistant,” says molecular microbiologist Jonathan J. Miner, lead author of the study, and continues: but every donor cornea we tested was resistant to the new coronavirus. It is still possible that other people have corneas that accept the virus, but none of the corneas we studied took on SARS-CoV-2. concluded the expert.
In experiments using corneal tissue from 25 human donors and also mice, the researchers exposed the eye tissue to three separate viruses: SARS-CoV-2, Zika virus, and herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1, which causes injury in cold weather) .
In tests (which also contained connective tissue, the membrane that covers the rest of the eye’s surface), the experiment showed that herpes and the Zika virus could enter the tissue – but the tests showed no signs of SARS-CoV-2.
The data suggests that the new coronavirus does not appear to be able to enter the cornea
As for how the human cornea might be able to withstand SARS-CoV-2, the team isn’t entirely sure. A potential molecular inhibitor of ocular viruses – called Interferon–lambda (IFN–λ) – managed to limit virus growth in the human cornea for HSV-1 and Zika virus, but blocking the proteins does not seem to increase the replication capacity of SARS-CoV-2.
The team says more studies are needed to confirm these findings
In other words, healthcare professionals shouldn’t give up on glasses and, until we know for sure, nobody should must assume that the coronavirus cannot enter the body through the eyes, despite the apparent resistance of the cornea. “It is important to observe and take appropriate precautions”, says Miner and continues: We may find that eye coverage is not needed to protect against infection, but our studies are just beginning“, Concluded the researcher.
The results were published in Cell Reports.
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