• Maria Casagrande, Antonia Fitzek, Klaus Püschel, Ganna Aleshcheva, Heinz-Peter Schultheiss, Laura Berneking, Martin S Spitzer, and Maximilian Schultheiss.
• Department of Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) , Hamburg, Germany.
• Ocul. Immunol. Inflamm. 2020 Jul 3; 28 (5): 721-725.

PurposeTo report the presence of viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in human retina in deceased patients with confirmed novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).Patients And MethodsFourteen eyes of 14 deceased patients with confirmed COVID-19 disease were enucleated during autopsy. A sample of human retina was secured and fixed in RNAlater™. Real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to detect three different viral RNA sequences (RdRp-gene, E-gene and Orf1 gene) of SARS-CoV-2.ResultsIn three out of 14 eyes SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA was detected in the retina of deceased COVID-19 patients. As analysis for three different sequences (RdRp-gene, E-gene and Orf1 gene) revealed positive results in RT-PCR, the existence of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in human retina is proven according to the standards of the World-Health-Organization.ConclusionViral RNA of SARS-CoV-2 is detectable in the retina of COVID-19 patients.

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