Identification of Zika Virus in Tears

Researchers say the Zika virus can survive in the eye. These scientists have identified genetic derivatives of the Zika virus in tears. According to Science Newsline, researchers at Saint Louis University in the United States say these findings explain why some Zika patients have developed eye diseases, including uveitis, which can lead to vision loss and blindness. This research, published in the scientific journal Cell Reports, was conducted on laboratory mice, but the researchers say they are ready to conduct it on Zika patients as well. Dr. Michael Diamond, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis and one of the senior authors of this research, states: 'Our study shows that the eye can act as a safe reservoir for the Zika virus. Now we need to consider whether individuals infected with Zika have also developed eye infections and how long these infections have persisted.' Although the Zika virus does not cause fatal diseases in adult humans, it can cause permanent damage to human fetuses born to mothers infected with Zika. Pregnant women carrying the Zika virus give birth to infants with microcephaly. These infants have much smaller skulls than normal and their brain development is significantly delayed. One-third of children exposed to the Zika virus in utero develop eye diseases, including inflammation of the optic nerves, damaged retinas, or blindness after birth. In adults, Zika can cause conjunctivitis (redness and itching of the eye) and, in rare cases, uveitis. According to Medical Press, in experiments conducted on laboratory mice, researchers found that the Zika virus can survive and spread in the eye. Scientists are still unsure how the Zika virus reaches the eye. The question researchers now need to answer is whether contact with the tears of a Zika-infected patient can transmit the disease to healthy individuals. The body's defense system in the eye does not function like in other organs. This means that to avoid potential damage to the very sensitive tissues of this organ, the defense system is less active there. For this reason, sometimes an infection that has cleared from the body remains active in the eye.