By Rennie Tembo
Lilongwe, March 9, Mana: Lilongwe District Health Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response Coordinator Chisomo Kankhwani says the district has recorded 1,054 cases of conjunctivitis disease from February to March this year.
Speaking in Lilongwe during a Public Health Emergency Management Committee (PHEMC) meeting, Friday, Kankhwali said the disease was discovered at Maula prison where 625 prisoners were reported to have shown signs of the disease.
“A clinician from the prison informed us after he got a report that the prison clinic received cases of red eye and a rapid assessment was done on 21st February and 625 inmates out of the 3,180 were affected,” he said.
Meanwhile, one of the clinician at Bwaila Hospital Isaac Kumwenda said the situation is worrisome as the disease is spreading like wild fire. We are receiving cases almost every day but the hospitals do not have enough antibiotics.
“This pandemic is out there and as it is, more cases are expected. We are very worried since we do not have enough drugs, such as chloramphenicol eye drops or gentamycin eye drops’’, he said.
Kumwenda further appealed for support from stakeholders saying there’s need to join hands before the pandemic reaches to different schools in the district.
“There is need for awareness campaign so that many people should be aware of the pandemic and start following precaution measures in order to contain further spreading of the disease,” he said.
Viral conjunctivitis or bacterial conjunctivitis is a disease which affects the eyes. It is easily spread from person to person and its signs and symptoms include; red eyes, painful eyes, blurred vision, headache, eye discharge and foreign body pain.
