Ebola discovered in doctor's eye months after virus left his blood

A man's eye with Ebola inside.
(Image credit: Twitter.com/NYTimes)

In a startling first, Ebola has been found inside a man's eye months after he was declared free of the virus.

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Dr. Ian Crozier, 43, was diagnosed with Ebola in September while working in Sierra Leone with the World Health Organization, The Associated Press reports. He was treated in the special Ebola unit at Emory University Hospital, and was released in October once the virus was no longer showing up in his blood. In December, he developed high blood pressure and inflammation in one of his eyes, which can lead to swelling and dangerous vision issues. Crozier returned to Emory, where ophthalmologist Dr. Steven Yeh drained some of the fluid, and discovered that it tested positive for Ebola.

Doctors did not detect Ebola in his tears or the skin around his eye.
 Patients who have survived Ebola have complained of eye problems, but it's not known how often that occurs. Yeh said this is not a public health concern, but doctors do need to monitor Ebola survivors for eye issues. While Crozier's vision isn't fully restored yet, Yeh said it is improving.

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Catherine Garcia

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.