To find out whether coronavirus can be present in different layers of the eye, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on Tuesday said it is conducting a study over the past few months on eyeball samples collected from people who have tested positive for COVID-19. Died due to 19. .
The head of the center, JS Titiyal, said the study, conducted by the hospital’s ophthalmology department, will be conducted on the corneal rims of the eyes.
Of the tissues retrieved by AIIMS between July 2020 and July 2021, it was found that 5.5 per cent of the estimated COVID-19 negative donors tested RT-PCR positive for SARS-CoV2. Tissue from these patients was not used for corneal transplantation and was subject to further microbiological analysis.
In India, an estimated 6.8 million people have unilateral corneal blindness and at least one million people have bilateral corneal blindness.
In the first study samples of the entire eyeball are being taken while in the second study samples of the corneal rims are practical.
Once the receptor is on the eye, the virus can attach and stay there.
Two eyeball samples are being evaluated for the first and primary studies, while 24 eyeball samples have been taken for the second study.
The team led by Dr JS Titiyal, Head Dr RP Centre, AIIMS is conducting both the studies.
Dr. Titiyal told ANI, “COVID-19 can also affect the eyes. There are reports that the virus was detected in the conjunctiva of Covid-infected people. We thought of doing a study to check whether Whether the virus is present in other parts of the eyes.”
“Second, we used RT-PCR test of eye donors. In the test, we found ten virus-infected corneal tissues. These tissues were sent for further study,” said Dr. Titial.
The chief said, “These cornea tissue samples will help detect whether there is a virus. Once the results are out, a clear idea will emerge as to whether we can use these tissues for cornea transplants in the future.” “
“In the study, eyeball samples from COVID-19 positive patients are being analyzed to determine whether a virus is present in the cornea, retina, optic nerve or gels…,” Titial said.
Molecular studies are also going on them in collaboration with other departments of AIIMS.
Studies are being done to see if virus particles are present in any layer of the cornea.
The study is going on for the last six months and the results are expected soon.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed.
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