Zika could leave sufferers BLIND – as experts link virus to glaucoma for first time
Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health have uncovered a direct link between the contagion and reduced sight in newborns
IT is the virus that has terrified the world - and now there's a brand new reason to fear the dreaded Zika.
Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health published a report on Friday which found a direct link between the mosquito-born contagion and child glaucoma, which could potentially leave youngsters blind.
The latest news means there's fresh concern around the illness, which is already known to cause painful fevers, vomiting, microcephaly, brain damage and even death in babies.
But now parents should be even more concerned after it was found to cause severe lesions in the retina, the inner coating of the eye, resulting in glaucoma, a condition that's usually seen in pensioners and can result in permanent damage to the optic nerve. In some extreme cases it can leave people blind.
“We identified the first case where Zika virus appears to have affected the development of the anterior chamber or front portion of the eye during gestation and caused glaucoma after birth,” said Dr. Albert Icksang Ko, Yale professor and co-author of the study published in the journal Ophthalmology.
Working in partnership with researchers in Salvador, Brazil, Ko and colleagues identified a three-month-old boy who was exposed to Zika virus during gestation.
While no signs of glaucoma were present at the time of birth, the infant developed swelling, pain and tearing in the right eye.
The research team diagnosed glaucoma as the cause of symptoms and - together with local ophthalmologists - performed a trabeculectomy, an operation that alleviates the pressure within the eye.
This development means doctors treating Zika patients should be aware that glaucoma is another serious symptom of the disease that should be monitored, said the investigators. Although its not clear whether it resulted from direct, or indirect, contact - during gestation or postpartum.
The latest development comes just a day after doctors discovered the first sexually-transmitted case of Zika in the UK. They said a woman ‘was likely to have been infected’ with the virus by her partner, who had recently visited an infected country.
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said there had been 265 cases of Zika in the UK with just the one “likely” spread through sex.
Zika was first noted in Uganda in 1952, but it was in early 2015 in Brazil that the virus really began to threaten public health. The virus generally only causes a very mild infection, with only one fifth of infected people actually becoming noticeably ill as a result of the disease.
Doctors have now hoping to develop a vaccine that will offer total protection against the devastating effects of the Zika virus.
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WHAT IS GLAUCOMA?
Glaucoma is an eye condition where the optic nerve, which connects your eye to your brain, becomes damaged. It can lead to loss of vision if not detected and treated early on. It usually occurs when the fluid in the eye cannot drain properly, which increases the pressure inside the eye and puts pressure on the optic nerve.
Glaucoma is a common condition, but many people won't realise they have it because it doesn't always cause symptoms in the early stages. It can affect people of all ages, including babies and young children, but is most common in adults in their 70s and 80s.
Glaucoma doesn't usually have any symptoms to begin with and is often only picked up during a routine eye test. Many people don't realise they have it because it develops slowly over many years and tends to cause a loss of peripheral vision (the edge of your vision) at first.
Both eyes are usually affected, although it may be worse in one eye. Without treatment, it can eventually lead to blindness.
Very occasionally, glaucoma can develop suddenly and cause: intense eye pain, a red eye, a headache, tenderness around the eyes, seeing rings around lights and blurred vision