The coronavirus can linger in patients’ eyes for several weeks and could act as a way of spreading the Covid-19 disease, according to a new study from Italy.

Scientists at Italy’s National Institute for Infectious Diseases hospital in Rome studied the symptoms of an unnamed 65-year-old woman who developed the virus after travelling from the Chinese city of from Wuhan.

When the woman developed conjunctivitis – an eye infection causing redness and itchiness – doctors decided to take regular swabs from her eye.

They discovered the virus remained present in “ocular samples” up to 21 days after she was admitted to hospital.

The team said the findings, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, indicated that eye fluids from coronavirus patients “may be a potential source of infection”.

The Italian experts said their research suggested that the eye could not only be an entryway for the virus, but also a source of contagion.

The study authors said: “These findings highlight the importance of control measures, such as avoiding touching the nose, mouth, and eyes and frequent hand washing.”

Though it’s rarely reported in confirmed Covid-19 cases, doctors have reported some patients hospitalised with the virus suffered from conjunctivitis among their other symptoms.

According to a recent paper led by the Centre for Ocular Research and Education in Canada, there is currently no evidence that contact lens wearers have an increased risk of contracting COVID-19 compared with wearers of spectacles.

The team at the National Institute for Infectious Diseases hospital in Rome said it was important for eye doctors to be aware of the potential risk of infection.