Killer coronavirus could be spread through the EYES: Chinese doctor says he caught the SARS-like infection because he wasn't wearing protective goggles

The killer coronavirus rapidly sweeping the world could be caught through the eyes, scientists have today warned

Chinese doctor Wang Guangfa fears he may have contracted the SARS-like infection because he wasn't wearing protective goggles.

Leading experts confirmed it is 'absolutely possible', saying the virus can enter the eyes by touching them – if it is on a patient's hands. 

And they even warned the virus – thought to be spread through sneezes and coughs – can roam through the body to reach the eye.

Twenty-six patients have died in the coronavirus outbreak in China, which has struck down more than 900 people and spread as far as the US.

Wang Guangfa has been infected with the new virus in China after being part of a team of doctors investigating it in Wuhan, where the virus emerged

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Dr Guangfa heads the department of pulmonary medicine at Beijing's Peking University First Hospital (pictured)

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Paul Kellam, professor of virus genomics at Imperial College London, said this is 'absolutely possible'.

'If you have droplets sneezed at you, they will wash from your eye to your nose,' he told MailOnline. 'Your eye connects to your nose through the lacrimal duct. 

'If you suffer from allergies and if your eyes run, so will your nose. Or if you put medication in your eyes, you’ll taste at the back of your throat.