Pink eye likely to be epidemic
HCMC records 63,309 pink eye cases in first eight months of 2023
Health authority works on identifying cause of pink eye amid soaring cases
Ophthalmologists warned against self-medication to treat pink eye
Preventative measures for pink eye
Specifically, the epidemic of acute conjunctivitis (pink eye) is spreading rapidly in Ho Chi Minh City. Within the past month, the Ho Chi Minh City-based Eye Hospital’s Medical Examination Department alone has received nearly 500 cases while eye departments of other hospitals in the city have recorded a 10-percent increase in the number of pink eye cases.
According to the city Department of Health’s statistics, up to now, the city has 23,873 cases of pink eye in all ages. When a child is diagnosed with pink eye, their parents need to keep the child away from their schools until there is no longer any discharge from the eyes to avoid the spread of the disease. Along with that, parents should note that when there are signs such as the child's fear of light, fussiness, rapid swelling, or blurred vision, it is necessary to take the child to a hospital for timely examination and treatment.
Head of the Can Tho Eye - Maxillofacial Hospital’s Department of Examination Tran Thi Thanh Tam yesterday said that in recent days, especially from September 13 to 15, the hospital recorded many cases of pink eye. According to her, the department every day receives 50 cases who come to the hospital for examination and treatment for pink eye. Among them, mainly children are elementary students.
Medical workers of the hospital also recorded a number of parents, who took their children to the infirmary for pink eye examination in previous days, returned to the hospital for treatment because they got the disease from their children. Pink eye is a contagious disease. Currently, the health sector in the Mekong Delta City of Can Tho is coordinating with schools to increase communications to help students prevent diseases.
The Center for Disease Control of Dak Lak Province said that the hand, foot and mouth epidemic is currently reoccurring in the province. As of September 12, the province has recorded nearly 1,200 cases of pediatric hand, foot and mouth disease with 21 outbreaks; worse, three children succumbed to the disease.
In addition, according to the Dak Lak Eye Hospital, the pink eye epidemic has been spreading widely from the beginning of September until now with a sharp increase in the number of pink eye patients. Of these, the Dak Lak Eye Hospital alone receives 300 cases per day.
Elsewhere, Gia Lai Province recorded some 4,644 cases of pink eye from reports of 11 medical healthcare facilities in the province from August 1 to September 11, according to the Center for Disease Control of Gia Lai Province. Most of the patients are pupils. The disease is spreading so strongly at this time when students head back to their schools.
Worryingly, the risk of the disease will continue to increase in the coming time withot preventive measures. This unit recommends that people when showing signs of pink eye need to go to a medical facility for examination, consultation and treatment. Patients need to be isolated without self-medication.
The virus that caused the outbreak of pink eye in Ho Chi Minh City has appeared in many epidemics around the world. The first outbreak was reported in 1969 in Ghana. Since then, epidemics of hemorrhagic conjunctivitis have occurred in many parts of the world. For instance, Coxsackievirus A24 was first recorded in Singapore in 1970, and then appeared in epidemics in other countries.
The coxsackievirus A24 variant was identified as an aetiological agent for the recent acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis outbreak in the southern largest city in addition to human Adenovirus 54 and 37.
By Thanh Son – Translated By Anh Quan