Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in conjunctival secretion and tears in patients with COVID-19 in a tertiary care centre, South India. . [version 1; peer review: 1 approved]

Aims and objectives: Purpose of this study is to detect the presence of SAR-CoV-2 viral RNA in conjunctival secretions of COVID-19 patients and to compare the RT-PCR positivity rate for SARS-CoV-2 in conjunctival and nasopharyngeal swab. Materials and method: Eighty hospitalised COVID-19 patients whose nasopharyngeal swab tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR were included in the study. Conjunctival swab was collected from eyes of these patients and sent for detection of SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR method. Results: Among the eighty patients, 51 (63.7%) were males and 29 (36.3%) were females. The mean age of the patients was 55.93 ± 16.59. Six patients had ocular manifestations. Eleven (13.75%) patients tested positive on conjunctival swab for SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA and only one of them had ocular manifestations out of the eleven. Conclusion: In our study the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in conjunctival secretions of COVID-19 patients was detected and this was not dependent on presence of ocular manifestations or duration of disease. Though the conjunctival positivity is lower compared to the nasopharyngeal swab sampling, ocular surface and secretions can be a potential route of viral transmission.