Ocular Monkeypox Is a Thing—Can It Cause Blindness?
The spread of monkeypox in the U.S. has slowed down over the past few weeks, but more information is trickling out about what it’s like to have the virus. Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is detailing in a new report cases of ocular monkeypox, i.e. monkeypox in the eyes.
The CDC’s latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report digs into five cases of ocular monkeypox that were reported to the health agency from July to September 2022. Four of the five patients needed to be hospitalized and two were HIV-positive. One patient was a nurse who contracted ocular monkeypox when she accidentally pricked herself while capping a needle used to swab the rash of a monkeypox patient.
All patients were treated with tecovirimat (Tpoxx), and four received treatment with topical trifluridine (Viroptic).
“Ocular monkeypox is a potentially sight-threatening infection,” the researchers warn in the report. “Urgent ophthalmologic evaluation and the provision of timely medical countermeasures for patients with suspected or confirmed ocular monkeypox might help prevent poor outcomes.”
So, how concerned should you be about ocular monkeypox and how do you get it, anyway? Here’s what you need to know.
Can you get monkeypox in the eye?
Yes, you can get monkeypox in the eye. However, you would typically have other monkeypox symptoms along with it, says infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. According to the CDC, those symptoms include:
A rash that may be located on or near the genitals or anus, and could be on other areas like the hands, feet, chest, face, or mouth
Fever
Chills
Swollen lymph nodes
Exhaustion
Muscle aches and backache
Headache
Respiratory symptoms (sore throat, nasal congestion, or cough)
People who get monkeypox in their eye usually “inoculate” themselves, meaning they infect themselves after touching their own monkeypox lesion and then touching their eye, Dr. Adalja explains. The report also explains how some patients developed monkeypox in one eye that then spread to the other eye.
For the record, though, ocular monkeypox is not common, he says.
What does monkeypox in the eye look like?
The CDC’s report broke down the symptoms patients had. They generally included:
Eye redness
Pain
Discharge
Itching
Sensitivity to light
“Some patients had nodules and ulcers in their eye,” says Thomas Russo, M.D., professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York.
Can ocular monkeypox affect vision or cause blindness?
It can. The report details how ocular monkeypox can be incredibly serious and even vision-threatening, noting that all five patients had “prolonged illness.” Four of them were hospitalized and one had “significant vision impairment.”
One of the patients also had vision loss and, the report notes, “he remains in treatment and his prognosis for vision recovery is currently unknown.”
Does monkeypox cause eye irritation?
In general, monkeypox doesn’t cause eye irritation. While Dr. Russo says that “a lot of viral illnesses will give you conjunctivitis,” it’s not thought to be common with monkeypox. Ocular monkeypox is “much more significant” than conjunctivitis, aka pinkeye, though, he says.
How to prevent ocular monkeypox
Again, it’s unlikely you would just randomly get monkeypox in your eye—you’d have symptoms of a monkeypox infection first, Dr. Russo says. But, if you have monkeypox or suspect that you have monkeypox, Dr. Russo says there are a few things you can to do lower your risk of developing ocular monkeypox:
Don’t touch your eyes. If you can, keep your hands away from your face and eyes to avoid infecting those areas, Dr. Russo says.
Don’t wear contacts. “If you wear contacts, you should stop wearing them until you have resolution of monkeypox,” Dr. Russo says.
Wash your hands. “Good hand hygiene is crucial” to avoid infecting other parts of your body, Dr. Russo says.
This article is accurate as of press time. However, some of the information may have changed since it was last updated. While we aim to keep all of our stories up to date, please visit online resources provided by the CDC and WHO to stay informed on the latest news. Always talk to your doctor for professional medical advice.
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