Thread by @TactNowInfo

1/ XBB.1.5 has a much stronger ability to infect people, binding stronger to ACE-2 receptors. We have these in our nose,& throat but also in our eyes & ears.

COVID as been known to infect through the eyes but its been fairly rare. XBB.1.5 will likely increase the odds.

2/ Pink eye symptoms will likely be a COVID infection for the next month or two, at least. There is a good chance it will be the XBB.1.5 variant. Searches for Conjunctivitis & Pinkeye are on the rise, as expected. Most people won't make the connection to COVID but now you know.

3/ An early study, "Our study found that the average duration of conjunctival congestion was 5.9 ± 4.5 days (mean [SD]), ranging from two to twenty-four days"
Initial top 3 symptoms:
Dry eye (20%)
Blurred vision (12.7%)
Foreign body sensation(11.8%)

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.11…

4/Posterior ocular structural and vascular alterations in severe COVID-19 patients
(2021)

This study detected significant posterior ocular structural and vascular alterations in patients with severe COVID-19 infections.

link.springer.com/article/10.100…

#ocular
#eyes

5/ "After incorporating the surface area of the eyelids and brows, roughly 4000 mm2 and 3000 mm2 respectively, the total ocular surface area surpasses 10,000 mm2. This is two orders of magnitude greater than the nares and mouth."(4)

Immune cells are important defenses our eye uses to control & fight infections.
1."Neutrophils reside in corneal endothelium after migrating through the limbal vasculature by diapedesis. The neutrophil-derived interferon-α (IFN-α) plays an important role in viral immunity" (4)

6/ We run into a slight problem because COVID has evolved to infect neutrophils. ⬇️

"Infected neutrophils had a direct effect on peripheral blood lymphocyte counts, with decreasing numbers of CD19+ B cells, CD8+ T cells, and CD4+ T cells."(5)

7/Luckily we have another layer of cells that fight infection in our eyes.

"Macrophages are thought to be located in both conjunctiva and corneal stroma [80]. Macrophages play an important role in initial defense connecting the innate and adaptive immune systems." (4)

8/ Once again, the immune response may be thwarted by COVID.

"SARS-CoV-2 infection drives an inflammatory response in human adipose tissue through infection of adipocytes and macrophages"⬅️ (6)

9/ COVID is becoming increasingly capable of infecting every cell of the immune system and the rest of our bodies. Considering XBB.1.5's iron grip through enhanced binding to ACE-2 receptors, we will likely see more infections occur through the eyes.

10/ We should be practicing great hand hygiene. Try to stay aware of touching a public door handle or check out pad so you use hand sanitizer after.

Particularly, children due to the proximity to other children and because they tend to touch more stuff and then their eyes.

11/Great hand hygiene is even more important than ever but also the use of properly worn, quality, N-95/KN-95 masks to help limit exposure to high viral loads.

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tactnowinfo.substack.com/p/covid-eye-in…