Over the weekend, the College of Optometrists published online some very useful resources for all of us working in primary care and who may come into contact with the novel coronavirus. At the time of writing, there have been eight confirmed cases in the UK, but this is likely to have changed by the time you read this. Well worth checking this information online.
The digital resource includes region-specific advice, but common to all is a reinforcement of how to minimise the spread of the virus. Hand-washing with a good soap and water, complemented by the additional use of antibacterial cleanser, is most important of all, as the virus can be picked up by contact with infected surfaces.
Having just squeezed into a crammed Northern Line Tube, it is impossible to ignore the increase in people wearing facemasks. Though these may be of some use in limiting the output of viral particles in droplets from a sneezing or coughing sufferer, most masks have little impact in preventing the virus infecting a new victim. Another point to remember, as outlined by a virologist on the news recently, is that respiratory tract infection can occur through the eyes. Droplets containing virus can lodge in the tears which then drain into the throat and can enter the lungs this way. Medics treating infected people all wear eye protection too.
This is probably the right time to pay tribute to the brave ophthalmologist Li Wenliang. Li warned colleagues on social media in late December about a mysterious virus that would become the coronavirus epidemic and was detained by police in Wuhan on January 3 for ‘spreading false rumours’. Li has now died while treating sufferers and we should all remember his bravery in telling the truth and resisting the controlling thought police of Xi Jinping.