SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, and the Eye.

December 2021 will mark the second anniversary of initial reports from Wuhan, China, of human infection by Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel positive-sense, single-stranded enveloped RNA virus transmitted via respiratory droplets and contaminated vectors, or fomites.[1],[2] As of this writing in August 2021, the pandemic has produced over 200 million confirmed cases from more than 200 countries, resulting in more than 4 million identified deaths.[3] As nearly half of these reported cases were from the United States and Europe - inhabitants of which together total just under 15% of the planet's population, there is good reason to believe that many regional rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection and of COVID-19-associated morbidity and mortality are spuriously low - particularly those from the developing world. Comparative evaluation of tears and nasopharyngeal swab for SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 dedicated intensive care unit patients. Presumed SARS-CoV-2 viral particles in the human retina of patients with COVID-19. 11 Seah I, Agrawal R. Can the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affect the eyes?. [Extracted from the article]