EC Ophthalmology

Covid-19 cases are rising again globally, due to the spread of a new variant that has been named Eris. It is officially known as EG.5.1 and is a variant of Omicron. There is currently no evidence that it is more severe than previous strains. A new strain of Covid-19 has been designated as a variant of interest by the World Health Organization as one that has genetic changes that could increase its transmissibility, virulence, its ability to evade vaccines.

However, it has quickly spread in the UK, China and US among those affected, suggesting it’s considerably more infectious than other strains. It is expected to become the most common variant in the UK in about two months. There is currently not much information about the specific symptoms EG.5.1 can cause. However, as it is a strain of Omicron, it could share many of the symptoms.

1. Parise R., et al. “A scientific perspective of how and why Omicron is less severe than SARS-CoV-2”. Emergency and Critical Care Medicine (2023): 10-97.
2. Binotti W and Hamrah P. “COVID-19-related conjunctivitis review: clinical features and management”. Ocular Immunology and Inflammation4 (2023): 778-784.
3. Leung EH., et al. “Ocular and Systemic Complications of COVID-19: Impact on Patients and Healthcare”. Clinical Ophthalmology 16 (2022): 1-13.
4. Cheema M., et al. “Keratoconjunctivitis as the initial medical presentation of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)”. Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology4 (2020): e125-e129.
5. Ozturker ZK. “Conjunctivitis as sole symptom of COVID-19: A case report and review of literature”. European Journal of Ophthalmology2 (2021): 145-150.
6. Hu K., et al. Ophthalmic manifestations of coronavirus (COVID-19) (2022).
7. Al-Namaeh M. “Ocular manifestations of COVID-19”. Therapeutic Advances in Ophthalmology (2022).
8. Ma D., et al. “Expression of SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in human primary conjunctival and pterygium cell lines and in mouse cornea”. Eye7 (2020): 1212-1219.
9. Ozturk M., et al. “Detection of coronavirus in tear samples of hospitalized patients with COVID-19”. International Ophthalmology2 (2023): 451-462.
10. Al-Namaeh M. “COVID-19 and conjunctivitis: a meta-analysis”. Therapeutic Advances in Ophthalmology 13 (2021): 25158414211003368.
11. Eid MM and Al Khalaf BN. “Reprint of: Conjunctivitis as initial presenting symptom in a COVID-19 patient”. Disease-a-Month9 (2022): 101372.
12. Loffredo L., et al. “An observed association between conjunctivitis and severity of COVID-19”. Journal of Infection3 (2021): 381-412.
13. Behera HS., et al. “Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the tear secretion of conjunctivitis patients during COVID-19 pandemic”. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology1 (2023): 70-74.
14. Jaiswal RK and Jhunjhunwala A. “Clinical course, diagnosis, and management of bilateral COVID-19 associated conjunctivitis: A case study”. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology5 (2022): 1815-1816.
15. Abbadi O and Eltahir A. “A case of conjunctivitis following mild illness COVD-19 infection”. Sudan Medical Laboratory Journal1 (2022): 88-93.
16. Loffredo L., et al. “Different rates of conjunctivitis in COVID-19 eastern and western hospitalized patients: a meta-analysis”. Internal and Emergency Medicine 9 (2021): 1-4.