SARS-Cov-2 can not penetrate through Cornea of Eyes, says study.

The researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in their recent study have reported that, the novel coronavirus can not penetrate through eye’s cornea. The findings were published in the journal Cell Reports.

Highlights

• The study further says that,  the herpes simplex virus though can infect the cornea and spread to other parts of the body in patients with weak immune systems.
• Researchers noted that, though Zika virus has been found in tears and corneal tissue. But, COVID-19 causing virus called SARS-CoV-2 can not replicate in the human cornea.
• However researchers have not yet determine whether other tissue around cornea, like tear ducts and the conjunctiva, are vulnerable to the virus or not.

Coronaviruses

Corona Viruses are a group of RNA viruses. It cause diseases in mammals and birds. They cause respiratory tract infections in humans and birds. Mild illnesses in humans causes the common cold  while lethal varieties can cause SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. In cows and pigs they are responsible to cause diarrhea. There are no vaccines or antiviral drugs available to prevent or treat human coronavirus infections.

Coronaviruses subfamily- Orthocoronavirinae

Corona belongs to the subfamily- Orthocoronavirinae in the family of Coronaviridae. They are enveloped viruses that contains a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome.

Background

The earliest reports of a coronavirus infection dates back to 1920s. Then, an acute respiratory infection of domesticated chickens reported in North America. However, Human coronaviruses were discovered in the 1960s.

How the viruses Transmit?

Coronaviruses primarily target the epithelial cells. These viruses are transmitted from one host to another host either by an aerosol, fomite, or fecal-oral route. Human coronaviruses infect the cells of the respiratory tract while animal coronaviruses infect the cells of the digestive tract. Fir instance, SARS coronavirus transmit through aerosol and infect the human cells of the lungs by binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor.