by Rennie Tembo

Lilongwe District Health Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response Coordinator, Chisomo Kankhwani has revealed that the district has recorded 1,054 cases of conjunctivitis disease from February to March 2024.

Speaking in Lilongwe on Friday during a Public Health Emergency Management Committee meeting,  Kankhwani 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. We established that 625 inmates out of the 3,180 were affected,” Kankhwani said.

Meanwhile, one of the clinicians at Bwaila Hospital, Isaac Kumwenda said the situation is worrisome as the disease is spreading like wild fire.

“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’’, Kumwenda 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 and is easily spread from person to person.

Its signs and symptoms include; red eyes, painful eyes, blurred vision, headache, eye discharge and foreign body pain.