Ian Crozier, an American doctor, has been initially treated for Ebola and declared free of the virus in his blood. But now doctors have re-discovered the virus in his eye.
According to a CNN report, not long after treatment, mild burning and light sensitivity afflicted his eyes, and less than two months later, he was back at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta and to his shock – test showed the virus was still living in his eye.
Crozier was discharged in October, and about two months later, he developed eye problems and returned to Emory. Doctors stuck a needle in his eye and removed some fluid, which tested positive for the virus.
At the time, Crozier thought the problems were “an immune-related Ebola complication,” but nothing to do with the return of the virus.
“We certainly didn’t think it was related to active and replicating virus in the eye,” Crozier said. “As my sight started to go bad, it became clear that this was a very different animal.”
Doctors believed there is no risk of spreading the virus.
Fortunately, samples from tears and the outer eye membrane tested negative for the virus, which means the patient was not at risk of spreading the disease during casual contact.
By the time the virus was found in Crozier’s eye, the eye started losing its original blue colour nd later turned green. Shocked, doctors tried different forms of treatment as he relived his Ebola nightmare.
They gave him steroids and an antiviral agent (which required special approval from the Food and Drug Administration, according to the Times).
His eye gradually returned to normal, but doctors are not sure whether it was as a result of the steroid shot, pill or his body’s immune system.
While Ebola survivors in West Africa have reported eye problems, it’s unclear how prevalent the condition is and how often it happens. Emory advises that Ebola patients should be monitored for the development of eye symptoms like pain, redness, light sensitivity and blurred vision.
Crozier said he hopes his case will bring light to the enormous challenges Ebola survivors face.
“You can imagine an Ebola survivor who’s already been through their own personal hell,” he said. “And as they emerge from that place, to then in a sense face the tragedy of going blind; it’s a story that we must pay attention.”
It is believed that about 25,000 people have fought Ebola infections over the past year while more than 10,000 have died, mostly in the West African nations of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Curiously, as the number of new cases continue to go down, there still remains unanswered questions about the aftereffects of the virus.
