Arboviruses and the eye

Abstract

Arthropod-borne viruses, or arboviruses, are viruses that are transmitted through the bites of mosquitoes and ticks. There are numerous arboviruses throughout the world capable of causing human disease spanning different viral families and genera. Recently, dengue, chikungunya, and zika viruses have emerged as increasingly important arboviruses that can cause human disease, however no specific treatment or vaccine is available for them. In addition, ocular manifestations of these diseases have become more prevalent over the past few years. This review highlights the current understanding on the pathogenesis, systemic changes and ocular findings, emphasizing the retinal manifestations related to dengue, chikungunya, and zika viruses.

Keywords: Arboviral disease; Arbovirus; Brazil; Chikungunya virus; Dengue virus; Ocular manifestations; Retinal manifestations; Zika virus.

Fig. 1

Fundus photographs of the right (a) and left (b) eyes of a patient with presumed retinitis secondary to Dengue virus infection reveals cotton-wool spots and retinal hemorrhage

Fig. 2

Wide-angle fundus image (Retcam^®) of the right eye of an infant with presumed Zika virus congenital infection showing sharply demarcated chorioretinal scarring with gross pigment mottling on the macula

Fig. 3

Fundus photographs of the right (a) and left (b) eyes of a 28 years old male patient with presumed retinitis secondary to Chikungunya virus infection reveals cotton-wool spots in both eyes and retinal hemorrhage and macular edema in the left eye. The horizontal B-scan of OCT on macular area shows no significant alterations in the right eye (c) and intra-retinal fluid, intra-retinal hyperreflective points correspondent to exudates and focal loss of external limitant membrane and ellipsoid zone of the left eye (d)