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Ebola Lurked In Cured Patient's Eye
An anonymous reader writes: During the Ebola outbreak last year, Dr. Ian Crozier was infected. He was eventually airlifted to Emory University for treatment, and a couple months later he was cured of the disease — or so physicians thought. Not long after he was released, his left eye began bothering him. His sight faded, and he felt intense pressure and pain in his eye. Examination of the eye found it teeming with Ebola. His doctors were surprised. Cured patients frequently deal with health issues long after the virus is gone, but this adds a new dimension to the course of the disease.
Doctors say Crozier posed no threat to others through casual contact; the virus did not exist in his tears or on the surface of his eye. But in addition to the new symptoms, his eye turned from blue to green. And doctors had to rush to disinfect the exam area used for what they thought was an Ebola-free patient. Research is ongoing to determine whether and how to protect from this lingering ebola infection. One theory suggests the virus survived, but was damaged somehow. Crozier was treated with antiviral drugs, and his eye improved, but doctors aren't sure whether the drug actually helped. Either way, it's made the medical community realize this is a longer battle than they had thought.
Doctors say Crozier posed no threat to others through casual contact; the virus did not exist in his tears or on the surface of his eye. But in addition to the new symptoms, his eye turned from blue to green. And doctors had to rush to disinfect the exam area used for what they thought was an Ebola-free patient. Research is ongoing to determine whether and how to protect from this lingering ebola infection. One theory suggests the virus survived, but was damaged somehow. Crozier was treated with antiviral drugs, and his eye improved, but doctors aren't sure whether the drug actually helped. Either way, it's made the medical community realize this is a longer battle than they had thought.
All the research related to HIV taught us a lot, but this kind of thing makes it obvious that we don't know nearly as much about viruses as we thought.
There are worse things out there...
(link is not for the squeamish...)
Having an infected eye is not good at all. But at least most people have two functioning eyes. A much greater risk would be to a singular organ, such as the penis or the scrotum. A diseased penis leaves very few options for treatment. And although most men have two testicles, they only tend to have one scrotum. Testes require a scrotum, so damage or loss to the scrotum itself often means death of one or both of the testicles. There is no fallback when dealing with the penis and the scrotum.
This is the start; a simple mutation that allows it to spread unnoticed throughout the population...
"I totally got this eye infection, but it made my eyes this really rad color of green! Uh...Do you Smell Brains?!!" :)
Truth isn't Truth - Guliani
I believe that the survivors are generally thought to be immune to further infection as well, so it's a bit scary that the virus can still find repositories in the body where it can hang out for longer periods of time.
It's not anything particularly new - we've known for decades that anyone that's had chicken pox still has the dormant virus in a number of nerve ganglia near the spine, and sometimes it reactivates and causes shingles.
Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas