Ebola, COVID-19, and emerging infectious disease: lessons learned and future preparedness

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Clay J Bavinger, Emory University; Jessica Shantha, Emory University; Steven Yeh, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2020-09-01
• Publisher: LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/ICU.0000000000000683
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: CURRENT OPINION IN OPHTHALMOLOGY
• Volume: 31
• Issue: 5
• Start Page: 416
• End Page: 422
• Grant/Funding Information: This project was supported by the National Eye Institute/ National Institutes of Health core grant P30-EY06360 (Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University School of Medicine), National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health under award number K23 EY030158 (Shantha) and RO1 EY029594 (Yeh). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the views or policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.; This research was also supported an unrestricted departmental grant from Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc. to the Emory Eye Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Santen, Inc. and the Bayer Global Ophthalmology Awards Program.
• Keywords: Ophthalmology; SURVIVORS; CORONAVIRUS; OCULAR COMPLICATIONS; Ebola; epidemic; CONGO; FEVER; Science & Technology; coronavirus disease-19; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; OUTBREAK; MANIFESTATIONS; PERSISTENCE; VIRUS DISEASE

Abstract

Purpose of review To highlight the lessons learned from the Ebola outbreak that may inform our approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly related to the widespread disruption of healthcare, ophthalmic disease manifestations, and vision health systems strengthening for future outbreaks. Recent findings Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), first detected in China in December 2019, has become a worldwide health emergency, with significant disruption of all aspects of society, including travel, business, and medical care. Although this pandemic has had unprecedented effects on healthcare delivery in the United States, experiences from recent Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreaks in Africa provide insight and inform our approach to COVID-19 and outbreak preparedness. Like COVID-19, the rapid emergence of Ebola required new clinical and surgical approaches to understand its associated spectrum of ophthalmic complications and the potential for Ebola viral persistence within the eye and in tear film. Recent reports of ophthalmic findings associated with COVID-19 include conjunctivitis, retinopathy, and molecular evidence of virus within the tear film in a minority of cases. Yet, more rigorous approaches to understand ophthalmic disease and transmission risk associated with COVID-19 are needed. Gaps also remain in our understanding of eye disease associated with other high priority emerging infectious diseases including Nipah, Lassa fever, Marburg virus, and others. Summary Thoroughly understanding the ophthalmic findings and transmission risk associated with COVID-19 is paramount during this pandemic, providing additional measures of safety while resuming ophthalmic care for all patients. Vision health systems preparedness measures developed during recent EVD outbreaks and the current pandemic provide models for ophthalmic clinical practice, research, and education, as we continue to address COVID-19 and future emerging infectious disease threats.