- LONDON (Reuters) -- Tears
could be a means of spreading SARS but analyzing samples taken from tear
ducts could also help with detecting the virus early, doctors in Singapore
said on Monday.
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- Dr Seng Chee Loon of the National University Hospital
in Singapore and his colleagues found the virus in samples taken from tear
ducts they analyzed from 36 patients suspected of being infected last year.
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- The highly infectious respiratory illness, Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), has infected more than 8,000 people in nearly
30 countries and killed nearly 800, according to the World Health Organization.
-
- The outbreak, which first emerged in southern China in
2002, was brought under control, but public health experts fear it could
re-emerge.
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- In the Singapore study three of the eight patients who
had probable SARS had the virus in their tears. All of them were newly
infected. In one patient the virus was only found in the tears.
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- "This is the first case series reported with the
detection of the SARS coronavirus from tears and has important implications
for the practice of ophthalmology and medicine," Loon said in a report
in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
-
- The findings suggest that the virus can be detected and
isolated in the early phase of infection and could be an important diagnostic
tool because analyzing tears is simple and easy.
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- But it also may mean that the virus could be spread through
tears, in addition to droplets from coughs or sneezes, which could pose
an additional health hazard for healthcare workers and the general public.
-
- "Ophthalmic practices may need to change as more
stringent barrier methods, appropriate quarantine, and isolation measures
are vital when managing patients with SARS," Loon added.
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- Scientists identified its cause as a new virus from the
family of coronaviruses that are responsible for the common cold and a
range of animal illnesses.
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- Loon said he did not find the virus in the tears of other
patients whose symptoms started earlier, which could mean sampling tear
ducts may provide an early test for the illness.
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- "As all three positive cases had sampling performed
early in the course of their illness, we hypothesize that the secretion
of virus in tears occurs only during the early phase of the disease,"
said Loon.
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- "The study also suggests that SARS, like other viruses,
can involve the eyes," he added.
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- Herpes viruses, chicken pox, Epstein Barr virus, hepatitis
C and B, and measles have also been detected in tears.
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