Baby boy’s eyes suddenly turn from brown to bright blue after Covid treatment
A BABY boy’s eyes turned blue after he was given Covid treatment, doctors have revealed.
The six-month-old was given the antiviral drug favipiravir in Bangkok, Thailand, after he was infected with coronavirus.
Just 18 hours later, his mum noticed his usually brown eyes shone blue when in sunlight.
After three days, his doctor took him off the treatment and his eyes returned to their normal colour five days later.
Medics were left baffled by the change in eye colour but believe it could be caused by fluorescent chemicals released when the drug is broken down in the body.
Dr Paveewan Jiravisitkul, of Chulabhorn Hospital, said: “It may be due to the drug, its metabolites, or additional tablet components such as titanium dioxide and yellow ferric oxide.”
Favipiravir is an antiviral drug usually used for flu and other viruses like Ebola.
It is licensed to treat Covid in China, Japan, and Thailand, where it is the main antiviral given to children.
The drug is currently under trial in Britain and is not recommended on the NHS for Covid, although some patients can be prescribed it on a Compassionate Patient Use basis.
Scientists have spotted it causing a change in eye colour before, with a 20-year-old Indian man’s eyes turning from brown to blue temporarily in 2021.
The latest case was published in Frontiers in Pediatrics.
Independent experts said the change in eye colour was surprising and more research is needed to find out what caused it.
Dr Vik Sharma, of the LondonOC clinic, told Live Science: “Usually the colour of the eye is determined by the iris not the cornea and is determined by the amount of pigment that is present in the iris from birth.
“More work is needed to determine the exact cause of the eye discolouration and any long-term effects.”