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The Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak of 2013–2016 was large, leaving in its wake an estimated 17,000 survivors in West Africa. Uveitis is one of the most common ophthalmic manifestations of EVD, but long-term follow-up in the at-risk population is lacking. We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study of 521 EVD survivors from Sierra Leone who underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examination a median of 1,289 days, or ≈3.5 years, after discharge from Ebola treatment units. The most common ophthalmic findings were cataracts (117 eyes, 11.2%), uveitis (86 eyes, 8.3%), dry eyes (81 eyes, 7.8%), and chorioretinal scar (68 eyes, 6.5%). EVD survivors with cataracts, uveitis, optic neuropathy, and corneal scar were more likely to have vision impairment, defined as Snellen visual acuity worse than 20/50. Results of our study highlight the need for ongoing vision care in EVD survivors.

Childhood blindness is an issue of global health impact, affecting approximately 2 million children worldwide. Vision 2020 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals previously identified childhood blindness as a key issue in the twentieth century, and while public health measures are underway, the precise etiologies and management require ongoing investigation and care, particularly within resource-limited settings such as sub-Saharan Africa. We systematically reviewed the literature on childhood blindness in West Africa to identify the anatomic classification and etiologies, particularly those causes of childhood blindness with systemic health implications. Treatable causes included cataract, refractive error, and corneal disease. Systemic etiologies identified included measles, rubella, vitamin A deficiency, and Ebola virus disease. While prior public health measures including vitamin A supplementation and vaccination programs have been deployed in most countries with reported data, multiple studies reported preventable or reversible etiologies of blindness and vision impairment. Ongoing research is necessary to standardize reporting for anatomies and/or etiologies of childhood blindness to determine the necessity of further development and implementation of public health measures that would ameliorate childhood blindness and vision impairment.