While coughing, fever and difficulty in breathing are common symptoms of Covid-19, a new case study has found that pink eye is also a reason

Toronto: While coughing, fever and difficulty in breathing are common symptoms of Covid-19, a new case study has found that pink eye is also a reason to be tested for the disease. The study, published in the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology, determined that conjunctivitis and keratoconjunctivitis can also be primary symptoms of Covid-19.

Pink eyeThe researchers noted that in March, a 29-year-old woman arrived at the Royal Alexandra Hospital’s Eye Institute of Alberta with a severe case of conjunctivitis and minimal respiratory symptoms.

After the patient had undergone several days of treatment with little improvement and after it had been determined that the woman had recently returned home from Asia a resident ordered a Covid-19 test.

The test came back positive, according to the researchers.

Pink eye“What is interesting in this case, and perhaps very different to how it had been recognised at that specific time, was that the main presentation of the illness was not a respiratory symptom. It was the eye,” said Carlos Solarte, an assistant professor at the University of Alberta in Canada.

“There was no fever and no cough, so we weren’t led to suspect Covid-19 at the beginning. We didn’t know it could present primarily with the eye and not with the lungs,” Solarte said.

“The patient in this case eventually recovered well without any issues. But several of the residents and staff who were in close contact with the patient had to be under quarantine,” said Solarte.