Bilateral submacular hemorrhages associated with an influenza syndrome

Bilateral submacular hemorrhages developed in a 21-year-old female nurse after a flulike illness. No subretinal neovascularization was detectable. She had a fourfold rise in serum antibody titer to influenza type A. Subjective visual changes were noted on Amsler grid, but vision remained 20/20 and the hemorrhages resolved spontaneously. A focal choroiditis in the macular area is postulated as being a possible mechanism for the development of the hemorrhages.