COVID-19: An Ophthalmologist’s Perspective

• Autor(a) principal: Cunha,João Paulo
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Outros Autores: Moura-Coelho,Nuno, Proença,Rita Pinto, Santos,Arnaldo Dias, Ferreira,Joana Tavares
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://scielo.pt/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2184-06282020000200184
• topic: COVID-19; Coronavirus Infections; Disease Outbreaks; Eye Diseases; Eye/virology; Ophthalmology; Pandemics; SARS-CoV-2

Abstract In just one hundred years, the world has been through five pandemics. Lessons of the past have not prevented a new virus from being responsible for a fifth wave of deaths worldwide, even with scientific advances and the rapid response of societies that, for the most part, anticipated the political and economic response. A century after the end of the Spanish Flu (1918/19), in December 2019, the world has watched the beginning of the second pandemic of the 21st century, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by a new severe acute respiratory coronavirus syndrome-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The eye can not only be the entry point for coronaviruses, but also a target organ. Conjunctivitis, uveitis, vasculitis, retinitis and optic neuritis have all been documented in animal models studies. In this article, we review the possible roles of the visual system/ocular tissues as an entryway, and the potential ophthalmic manifestations of human SARS-CoV-2 infections. This review article will also highlight the most effective ways for protecting and preventing the spread of the virus.