Abstract
Introduction:The current pandemic of severe acute respiratory symptom coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has had a major impact on individuals’ lives. Social isolation and the use of personal protective equipment - the latter being especially important for health care workers - emerged as two of the main methods of preventing the spread of the disease. The eye can represent a source of transmission through contaminated tears, as well as a source of infection for respiratory droplets or aerosol particles, which may come into contact with the ocular surface and migrate to the lungs and other parts of the body.Objectives:To investigate the risk of ocular transmission through a literature review and identify ways of preventing it.Methods:A search of the scientific literature was conducted in the PubMed and Cochrane databases, using a combination of the following keywords: “COVID-19,” “eye,” “personal protective equipment,” “SARS-CoV-2,” “protective goggles,” “face shields,” and “workers’ health.”Results:The mechanisms of ocular transmission have not been fully elucidated, but studies have demonstrated the presence of viral RNA in the conjunctival sac and aerosolized secretions of contaminated patients; these droplets may come into contact with the eyes of uninfected bystanders, entering the respiratory system through the nose and gaining access to the lungs.Conclusions:Studies show that the virus can be effectively transmitted through the eyes, underscoring the importance of protective goggles for health care workers or potential transmitters of the virus, in addition to the need for additional education measures to encourage hand hygiene and discourage touching of the eyes.
Highlights
Coronaviruses are enveloped, non-segmented, positive-strand RNA viruses belonging to the Coronaviridae (CoV) family.[1]
The number of patients infected with novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the first 2 months of the outbreak was nearly 10 times higher than that of individuals with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), though the lethality of the disease was lower than observed in the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-1) or the 2012 outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).[3]
The search was conducted using a combination of the following keywords: “COVID-19,” “eye,” “personal protective equipment,” “SARS-CoV-2,” “protective goggles,” “face shields,” and “workers’ health.”
Summary
Coronaviruses are enveloped, non-segmented, positive-strand RNA viruses belonging to the Coronaviridae (CoV) family.[1] The current outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been defined as a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO).[2] According to epidemiological data, the number of patients infected with novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the first 2 months of the outbreak was nearly 10 times higher than that of individuals with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), though the lethality of the disease was lower than observed in the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-1) or the 2012 outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).[3] SARS-CoV-2 uses angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as a receptor to enter the host cells.[4] ACE2 is a metallopeptidase expressed in epithelial cells of the respiratory system, eyes, small intestine enterocytes, and renal proximal tubule cells.[5] It is responsible for the binding of the spike protein to the cell surface and mediates the entry of the virus into the host cell.[6]
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