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The killer coronavirus rapidly sweeping the world could be caught through the eyes, scientists have today warned. Chinese doctor Wang Guangfa fears he may have contracted the SARS-like infection because he wasn’t wearing protective goggles.
Leading experts confirmed it is ‘absolutely possible’, saying the virus can enter the eyes by touching them – if it is on a patient’s hands. And they even warned the virus – thought to be spread through sneezes and coughs – can roam through the body to reach the eye.
Wang Guangfa has been infected with the new virus in China after being part of a team of doctors investigating it in Wuhan, where the virus emerged. Dr Guangfa heads the department of pulmonary medicine at Beijing’s Peking University First Hospital
Paul Kellam, professor of virus genomics at Imperial College London, said this is ‘absolutely possible’. Transmission would potentially be by touching the eye so the virus is on the hand, which then makes it easy to spread from one person to another.
The virus – previously unknown to science – first appeared in Wuhan last month. It originated in a meat market and scientists believe it ‘jumped the species barrier’ from snakes, which may have been on sale illegally, to humans. Symptoms begin with a fever, a dry cough and sneezing. This is followed by shortness of breath about a week later, which can develop into pneumonia.
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