Virus From Marine Animals Causing Rare Eye Disease, Medicos Ring Alarm Bells
Doctors said sea food should be thoroughly cooked and consumption of raw food should be avoided, reports ETV Bharat’s Gautam Debroy.
Published : April 22, 2026 at 4:22 PM IST
|Updated : April 22, 2026 at 8:35 PM IST
New Delhi: A virus typically infecting marine animals, such as shrimp and fish, that subsequently spillover to humans, causing chronic eye disease, has raised alarm bells ringing among India’s health fraternity.
According to a study published in the journal Nature Microbiology, the number of people in China with a condition called Persistent Ocular Hypertension Viral Anterior Uveitis (POH-VAU) has been increasing with symptoms like extremely elevated eye pressure and inflammation.
“There are 49 species of the virus. The risk factor basically is unpredictable. Many of the people don’t handle it properly and eat raw and uncooked food, which causes inflammation,” Dr Suneela Garg, renowned health expert and a member of the advisory committee of the health ministry told ETV Bharat on Wednesday.
Emphasising on surveillance and clinical awareness, Dr Garg said, "As far as India is concerned, we don’t have officially reported cases but the disease may be underrecognised or misdiagnosed in India,” she said.
Dr Garg suggested that the sea food should be thoroughly cooked and people need to avoid raw food consumption.
Persistent Ocular Hypertension Viral Anterior Uveitis
Like glaucoma, Persistent Ocular Hypertension Viral Anterior Uveitis causes high pressure within the eye, damaging the optic nerve. It causes severe, recurrent eye inflammation and extreme, lasting intraocular pressure elevation that can lead to irreversible glaucoma, corneal damage, and vision loss.
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences in Qingdao studied 70 people who have been infected between 2022-2025. They were tested for covert mortality nodavirus, which, until now, has been a virus that affects marine animals. Ironically, all 70 tests were positive.
While initial cases were identified in China, the risk extends to individuals in India who frequently handle or consume raw and undercooked seafood, particularly shrimp and fish.
“Climate change and human activity are increasing zoonotic spillover risks, with Persistent Ocular Hypertension Viral Anterior Uveitis emerging as a rare human eye disease linked to the aquatic virus Covert Mortality Nodavirus. Evidence from Nature Microbiology shows CMNV infection and seroconversion in affected patients, suggesting cross-species transmission from seafood exposure. The condition remains uncommon and exposure-related, causing uveitis with raised intraocular pressure, and is not currently a widespread public health threat,” said another health expert and former president of Asian Society for Emergency Medicine Dr Tamorish Kole.
For India, according to Kole, where seafood consumption is widespread and aquaculture forms a major part of the economy, the theoretical risk cannot be ignored.
Another health expert and assistant Professor at Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine, Dr Sayan Maharatna said that so far there is no evidence of human to human spread and also no evidence of spread from cooked seafood.
“So, at present the virus is getting detected in the eyes of a particular clinical phenotype but to understand whether the virus is the cause behind this disease we need to know the pathogenesis which is not clear at this point. Sea fish is popular in India and this paper (Nature Microbiology) highlights the importance in identifying this particular clinical phenotype in sea food handlers, fisherman, wet market workers, aquaculture workers in our country as well. That kind of surveillance can add to more knowledge about this virus but at this point no need to restrict seafood consumption or any outbreak level concern. All it needs is academic vigilance not public panic,” said Sayan.
West Bengal, Kerala and Goa are among the highest consumers of seafood in India, driven by high fish consumption rates. Other states in seafood consumption include Odisha, Assam, Tripura, and Manipur.
According to the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, the fisheries sector in the country plays a significant role in the Indian economy and remains an important source of food, nutrition, income, supporting 28 million livelihoods through fishing, processing, and marketing.
The Ministry in its latest report said that with a rich marine and inland water resource base, India’s fish production has increased from 24.42 lakh tonnes (in 1980-81) to 18.40 MMT (in 2023-24).
Increasing Fish Production in India
Fish production has increased to 197.75 lakh tonnes in 2024-25 from 95.79 lakh tonnes in 2013-14, which is a significant 106 percent.
As per data provided by Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, average aquaculture productivity has increased to 4.77 tonnes per hectare
“Indian seafood exports have witnessed an impressive growth as the country exported 16.98 lakh tonnes of seafood worth Rs 62,408 crore during 2023-24,” the Ministry said.
Dr Kole said that the actual risk to the general population remains low at present. The available data indicate that most affected individuals had repeated or occupational exposure to raw or live seafood, particularly without protective measures, he said. "Routine dietary practices involving properly cooked fish and shrimp are unlikely to pose a significant risk, as cooking is expected to inactivate the virus. Therefore, this should not be viewed as a threat to everyday food habits but rather as a targeted occupational and behavioural risk,” Dr Kole said.
As of now, there are no confirmed or published cases of POH-VAU in India. All reported cases in the initial study cohort originated from China, and there has been no formal notification from Indian public health authorities or ophthalmological societies.
“The absence of reported cases does not definitively exclude its presence. Given the nonspecific clinical presentation, it is possible that such cases could be misdiagnosed as conventional viral uveitis or secondary glaucoma, especially in settings where advanced virological diagnostics are not routinely performed,” said Dr Kole.
Precautions To Fight Emerging Challenges
Preventive strategies should focus on basic but effective infection control practices. “Individuals who frequently handle raw seafood should use gloves, maintain strict hand hygiene, and avoid touching their eyes during handling. Protection against splashes, including simple eye protection in high-risk occupational settings, may further reduce risk. From a dietary standpoint, ensuring that seafood is adequately cooked remains the most practical and effective safeguard for the general population,” said Dr Kole.
From a clinical perspective, awareness is the key. This condition should be considered in patients presenting with recurrent anterior uveitis associated with elevated intraocular pressure, especially when there is a history of seafood exposure and routine viral causes have been excluded.
Early recognition and prompt ophthalmology referral are essential to prevent irreversible visual complications. At a systems level, India would benefit from targeted surveillance in coastal and aquaculture regions, clinician awareness programs, and further research into zoonotic transmission from marine ecosystems.
Dr Sayan, however, said that for the high-risk groups, gloves (while handling raw seafood), eye protection (if splashing) and hand hygiene before touching face or eyes will be important.
“For physicians and researchers, they need to look into cases of unusual viral anterior uveitis with high intraocular pressure of refractory nature and with negative viral work up and also having raw seafood exposure in order to better establish the epidemiological link,” he said.
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