Researchers studying the Zika virus have revealed that the mosquito-borne infection may cause glaucoma in infants.
The virus was already known to cause birth defects in babies. Scientists from Yale and Brazilian School of Public Health have explained that besides microcephaly and other pathologic conditions involving the central nervous system, the virus also induces severe lesions in the posterior eye or the retina.
The researchers, however, highlighted that there has not been sufficient evidence linking Zika with glaucoma to infants. Yale School professor Dr. Albert Icksang Ko said that research team "identified the first case where Zika virus appears to have affected the development of the anterior chamber or front portion of the eye during gestation and caused glaucoma after birth."
During the researchers' investigations of the epidemic in Northeast Brazil, they encountered a three-month-old baby infected with the virus during pregnancy. During birth, they observed zero signs of eye problem. However, later, the boy manifested signs like pain, swelling and lachrymation of the right eye. The diagnosis stating that it was glaucoma led to trabeculectomy to address the increased internal eye pressure.
This is the first case of eye problem among infected infants. However, clinicians have been cautioned about the possibility of a patient developing serious symptoms like glaucoma. In September, research showed the persistence of the microbe in the eyes, which explains the development of eye problems among affected individuals. The Zika virus, which is transmitted by mosquito bites or sexual intercourse, has infected 109,000 cases since its outbreak in 2015.
The study linking the Zika virus with glaucoma in infants was published in the Journal of Ophthalmology. Further research is needed to determine whether the eye defect was directly linked to the virus.