A report in the South China Morning Post says The eyes are an important route for the coronavirus into the human body, University of Hong Kong research found the strain was up to 100 times more infectious than severe acute respiratory syndrome and bird flu in two facial orifices tested by the public health experts.
Laboratory tests revealed the “virus level” of SARS-Cov-2 –the strain of coronavirus that causes the Covid-19 disease – was far greater than for Sars in the upper respiratory airways and conjunctiva, the cells lining the surfaces of the eyes.
The team led by Dr Michael Chan Chi-wai, from HKU’s school of public health, became among the first researchers worldwide to provide evidence the coronavirus can infect humans through both entry points when it published its findings in the latest issue of The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
The study reinforces advice to the public not to touch their eyes and to wash hands regularly to avoid infection, after the university researchers previously found the coronavirus could survive as long as seven days on stainless steel surfaces and plastic.
Edited by Ian McIntosh
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