COVID-19 Found in The Cornea A multi-institutional study finds that COVID-19 can be found in post-mortem corneal tissue, highlighting the importance of the donor screening process. COVID-19 has been found in conjunctival swabs and tears of infected patients, according to a new study published in The Ocular Surface. The discovery prompted a research team including Shahzad Mian, M.D., an ophthalmologist at Kellogg Eye Center, to analyze the prevalence of COVID-19 in human post-mortem ocular tissues. The results: the virus can infiltrate corneal tissue, the clear, outer layer of the eye, that could be used for transplantation in the U.S., raising concerns that the disease could be transmitted to a healthy recipient. Of the 132 ocular tissues from 33 donors intended for surgery in Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and New Jersey, 13% were positive for COVID-19, which was determined  by isolating the ribonucleic acid (RNA), a molecule similar to DNA, of the patients that were known to have the virus or showed symptoms without a positive nasopharyngeal swab. Studies have shown that COVID-19 patients hold much of the virus in the upper respiratory tract, so there’s a strong possibility the virus could contaminate the outer layers of the eye via respiratory droplets after coughing, sneezing or hand-to-eye contact, according to Mian. “There’s no evidence to suggest COVID-19 can be transmitted from a corneal transplant, but our data assures us that a screening process to determine who’s positive for the virus and who isn’t is important to make sure we do everything in case there is a potential risk of transmission,” Mian adds. https://labblog.uofmhealth.org/lab-report/covid-19-found-cornea-are-transplants-a-transmission-risk #ophthalmology #optometry #cornea #COVID19 #coronavirusus #sarscov2 #optometrist #eyedoctor #ophthalmologist #eyehealth #covideye https://www.instagram.com/p/CItC7MlhLC1/?igshid=kvijwyj6oqj0
