Title

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on viral keratitis
 

Authors

Ankita Baghel^1,*, Aditi Mishra¹, Sanskriti Ukey¹, Pankaj Choudhary² & Sachin Parmar³

Affiliation

¹Department of Ophthalmology, NandKumar Singh Chauhan Medical College, Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, India; ²Department of Ophthalmology, Shyam Shah Medical College, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, India; ³Department of Community Medicine, V.K.S. Government Medical College, Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh, India; *Corresponding author

Email

Ankita Baghel - E-mail: ankibaghel24@gmail.com
Aditi Mishra - E-mail: aditimishra5383@gmail.com
Sanskriti Ukey - E-mail: sanskritiukey97@gmail.com
Pankaj Choudhary - E-mail: pankaj17choudhary@gmail.com

Sachin Parmar - E-mail: dr.sachinparmar@gmail.com

Article Type

Research Article

Date

Received April 1, 2026; Revised April 30, 2026; Accepted April 30, 2026, Published April 30, 2026
 

Abstract

COVID-19 has altered the epidemiology and clinical course of viral keratitis, with increasing evidence of herpesvirus reactivation after infection or vaccination. HSV keratitis remains most common in younger-to-middle-aged men, while HZO predominates in older adults and around one-fourth of HZO patients report current or prior COVID-19. HSV cases frequently recur and complications such as corneal opacity and neuropathic pain can cause vision outcomes ranging from normal to severe loss. Large recent studies suggest vaccination is associated with higher risk of new-onset and relapsing herpesviral keratitis, supporting antiviral prophylaxis for high-risk patients. Thus, screening around COVID-19 illness or vaccination and early, structured antiviral treatment reduces long-term visual impairment.

Keywords

Keratitis, herpetic; COVID-19; vaccination; reactivation

Citation

Baghel et al. Bioinformation 22(4): 2253-2258 (2026)

Edited by

P Kangueane

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.