Pink eye resurges in South Punjab

Over 2,100 cases reported in a day across province

LAHORE:

The pink eye disease has resurged to an alarming level with 2,167 patients registered during the past 24 hours.

The situation is more alarming in South Punjab with Bahawalpur district recording the highest number of fresh cases as 335.

Health officials said the number of patients visiting hospitals with complaints of eye infection was also on the rise in Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad. Eye specialists advised people to follow the precautionary guidelines to avoid the disease.

The spread of the eye disease had peaked two weeks ago but had eased afterwards.

The provincial government had shut the schools across the province for some days because of the risk to students, as thousands of children had been affected.

This and other steps by the government and precautions by the citizens had proved helpful to reduce the risk.

According to the primary and secondary healthcare department’s monitoring staff, 2,167 fresh patients of eye infection were registered during the past 24 hours.

During last week the number of patients visiting the ophthalmology departments in hospitals in the province had dropped to about 500 per day.

Official record shows that around 426,000 people in Punjab have been affected by conjunctivitis during the ongoing year, with over 80 per cent of the cases registered during the past month.

The epicentre of the disease has been South Punjab, where 80,992 people have been confirmed as suffering from the infection since January in Bahawalpur district, including 335 reported on Monday.

Lahore has registered 25,825 patients of eye infection, including 142 confirmed in the past day, followed by Multan with 18,660 patients, including 131 fresh cases.

Faisalabad recorded 193 fresh cases, raising the tally for the year to 34,764.

Rawalpindi is also among the worst hit districts with 9,577 total cases, including 43 confirmed on Monday.

The Punjab government had announced an emergency in the hospitals last month and advised the health facilities in all districts to make maximum arrangements for the eye patients.

An Inquiry committee was also set up to look into incidents of loss of eyesight in the province due to the use of an injection. However, the committee has failed to submit its report so far.

According to health officials, equipment used in producing the injection had been confiscated and the premises sealed, while the findings of the inquiry would be submitted soon.

“We have alerted the administrators of all district hospitals for the patients’ treatment, advising them that eye surgeons and specialists should perform duty round the clock,” Caretaker Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Minister Dr Jamal Nasir said.

He said all facilities, including eye drops, were available in the hospitals.

He said the people should not panic due to the disease as there was no risk of vision loss or any other serious danger because of it. The patients recover in up to 10 days while adopting safety measures.

He said the people should take care of cleanliness of their eyes and avoid heat and pollution. Safety measures should be taken at homes and family members should not share towels and clothes of the patients, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 10^th, 2023.