With incessant rains several parts of the country, there has been reports of spurt in conjunctivitis cases which is also known as red eyes. Maharashtra has surge in conjunctivitis cases over the last two weeks with the state has recorded 40,132 cases, media reports stated citing public health department data. Among the 22 districts where the cases have been reported, Pune city has highest number of cases with 8,195, officials said as reported by HT.
Other district which reported high cases is Buldhana with 6,693 cases which is followed by Amravati, Gondiya and Dhule with 2,311, 2,591 and 2,537 cases respectively.
Speaking of why Pune is witnessing highest number of cases, to which officials told HT that there was an outbreak of Conjunctivitis in Alandi village. Further adding, official stated Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has 324 cases till date while no cases have been reported in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). Some media reports also state that in last week, PCMC area has reported over 1000 cases. In another incident, media report also stated that a school in Bhosari saw about 65 cases in a day.
Conjunctivitis is a highly contagious eye infection caused by various viruses. Common symptoms include redness, itching, excessive tearing and a gritty feeling in the eye. It can spread easily through direct or indirect contact with an infected person’s eye secretions, contaminated objects or respiratory droplets.
Meanwhile, the PCMC also issued a list of symptoms like: Constant sensation of something in the eye, Watery and dirty eyes, Eye redness, Inner corners of eyes and eyelids, Watery or ‘pus’ or dirt coming from the eyes. Sometimes the eyelids stick among others.
Apart from Delhi, there have been a spurt in other states like Delhi, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh cases of conjunctivitis.
In Chhattisgarh, on Friday, the state government issued instructions to the education department officials to ensure that the children infected with the ‘eye flu’ are not sent to school in order to check its further spread. Deputy Chief Minister TS Singh Deo, who also holds the health portfolio, at a press conference said that more than 19,800 cases of ‘eye flu’ have been registered in the state, news agency PTI reported.
On 28 July, hospitals in Delhi are witnessing a surge in cases of eye infection or acute conjunctivitis, with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences reporting approximately 100 cases per day, as reported by PTI. Terming the rising eye infection cases an “epidemic”, Dr J S Titiyal, chief of RP Centre, AIIMS, warned that the number is expected to hit the peak within the next few days after which the numbers may come down.
Another Dr Dr. Rajendra Prasad (RP) Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences at AIIMS found adenovirus to be the causative agent in all cases tested, PTI has reported. Among these, nearly 20-30 per cent of cases have a positive bacterial culture as well, pointing towards superadded bacterial infection, he added.
In Arunachal Pradesh, several district administrations have ordered temporary suspension of school activities to curb the spread. After Itanagar and Kanubari sub-division of Longding district, Namsai and East Siang administrations ordered the closure of schools for a few days to arrest the outbreak of the eye infection, official said as reported by PTI. All private and government schools in East Siang will remain temporarily closed till August 2, while activities in such educational institutes in Namsai have been suspended till July 31, an official said.
(With PTI inputs)
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Updated: 31 Jul 2023, 05:48 PM IST
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