01 September 2010
Jaipur, India
Conjunctivitis (an eye ailment) has registered a steep rise in the state over the past few weeks. The incidence of the disease is estimated to be more than double of that registered last year. The health department has authorised all the district chief medical and health officers to purchase eye medicines of up to Rs 1 lakh.
"It will be difficult to track the actual numbers but the infection is considerably high this season, we have instructed the district health officials to make necessary arrangements" said Dr G S Khatri, joint director (blindness), health department.
Conjunctivitis caused due to inflammation of eyelids most commonly due to viral infection, can be bacterial or allergic in nature. It is a contagious disease. The long humid period has caused a rise in cases of the disease. "Number of cases will go down as the rainy season comes to end," Dr Khatri added.
The SMS outdoor patient ward records over 50 patients each day. "Not only is the incidence high, the infection is more severe this season," said Dr P K Mathur, former head of department, SMS College. Many people of the same family often report of the infection, "Nearly one fourth of patients arriving at the ophthalmology department have conjunctivitis," says Dr Indu Arora, head of department, M G Hospital, Jaipur.
While most are cured within a week, eye allergies can become complex in some cases. Doctors advise people to maintain personal hygiene to prevent contracting the infection.
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