Drop in conjunctivitis cases in Alandi

PUNE

In a huge relief, Monday saw a significant drop in the number of fresh Conjunctivitis cases in Alandi with only 777 such reported. The drop comes after a consecutive surge in cases for one whole week and the situation will soon be under control, according to health officials.

There has been an outbreak of conjunctivitis among school children in Alandi since July 17. In the week ended July 23, as many as 6,403 Conjunctivitis cases were reported in Alandi. Following the outbreak, the public health department initiated a survey in the Khed tehsil. A team from the National Institute of Virology visited Alandi last week and collected samples from infected patients. According to officials, as many as 7,020 conjunctivitis cases have been reported since the outbreak with the highest number (2,094) reported on Saturday, July 22. On Sunday, the number of cases fell to 1,482 while on Monday, they plunged further to 777.

Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, is an infection or inflammation of the transparent membrane called conjunctiva, which covers the white part of the eyeball. The most common cause of conjunctivitis is infection with Adenovirus, a group of viruses that cause the common cold and other upper respiratory tract infections.

Dr Indira Parkhe, taluka health officer (THO) of Khed, said that the number of new cases detected on Monday have significantly declined and they hope that the cases will continue to drop in the coming days. “Today, the drop in conjunctivitis cases was witnessed both at the hospital’s outpatient department (OPD) and survey. The recovery amongst infected patients is good. Out of the 7,020 patients, 2,962 patients have recovered till date. However, we have not yet decided to call off the survey. The health team will continue to conduct the survey even on Tuesday,” Dr Parkhe said.

Dr Nagnath Yempalay, district civil surgeon, said that to bring the situation under control, they have decided to focus on early detection and treatment. “Additional teams have been deployed to conduct the survey in Alandi and the adjoining villages and schools. It is a good sign that since the past couple of days, the cases have started to decline. A majority of the cases have been reported amongst children from Warkari schools. Good hygiene has to be followed when an individual is infected with contagious disease. However, the same was neglected by the children which led to spread of infection,” Dr Yempalay said.

Since the outbreak, health officials have screened as many as 50,616 persons (children and adults) in Alandi and the adjoining villages of Khed tehsil. Door-to-door surveys of 2,797 houses have been conducted in the affected area. All infected children have been provided free treatment, the officials said.