Report Supported by Research to Prevent Blindness Finds That Post-Ebola Cataract Surgery Can Safely Restore Vision
Cataract surgery can be safely performed on Ebola virus disease survivors with impaired vision, Emory Eye Center ophthalmologists and 40 colleagues around the world report.
Their findings were reported in the journal EBioMedicine.
After the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa from 2013 to 2016, thousands of survivors were at risk for impaired vision because of uveitis, eye inflammation that can lead to pain, light sensitivity, and severe vision impairment, often due to cataracts. An estimated 13 to 34 percent of Ebola survivors have developed uveitis with varying degrees of severity ranging from mild disease to blindness.
The eye is considered “immune privileged”, in the sense that a virus can be cleared from the rest of the body while persisting in the ocular fluid. Thus, invasive ophthalmic procedures on Ebola survivors possibly pose a risk to health care workers and other close contacts.
Steven Yeh, MD, and Jessica Shantha, MD, from the Emory Eye Center and Colleen Kraft, MD, from Emory University Hospital, along with multiple United States and international partners, report that 50 Ebola virus disease survivors in their EVICT (Ebola Virus Persistence in Ocular Tissues and Fluids) study tested negative for Ebola virus in their ocular fluid. Thirty-four subsequently underwent cataract surgery with vision restorative outcomes. Specifically, visual acuities improved from the Hand Motions level (worse than legal blindness) to the 20/30 visual acuity level.
“These findings are truly exciting, as they improve our ability to impact vision care and quality-of-life for thousands of Ebola survivors at-risk for eye disease,” says Yeh. He is the M. Louise Simpson Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Uveitis and Vitreoretinal Surgery, Emory Eye Center, and an affiliate of the Emory Global Health Institute, Emory University...