Pakistan’s Punjab province reports over 10,000 conjunctivitis cases in a day — health authorities

A doctor examines a boy suffering from an eye infection at a hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on September 28, 2023. (AFP)

• The provincial health department says 394,795 cases of the eye infection have so far been reported in all 36 districts of Punjab
• Interim health minister assures the public the government is making active efforts to control infectious diseases in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Health authorities in Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province on Saturday announced a significant spread of conjunctivitis or pink eye infection, with 10,269 cases documented in the past 24 hours alone, the state-owned Radio Pakistan reported.
Punjab is currently grappling with a significant rise in these cases, with a total of 394,795 people reported to have contracted the disease across all 36 districts, according to the provincial health department.
The Punjab education department already took proactive measures earlier this week by announcing a four-day school closure to stem the spread of the infection.
“The primary and secondary health department of Punjab reported a severe outbreak of pink eye infection with a staggering 10,269 new cases in the past 24 hours,” the Radio Pakistan said.
The health department said that while conjunctivitis usually goes away on its own within eight to 10 days, people should practice proper eye hygiene to minimize the risk of infection.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s interim health minister, Nadeem Jan, also issued a public warning, urging vigilance against the spread of viral infections.
According to the Associated Press of Pakistan news agency, Jan assured the public the government was actively implementing effective measures to control disease outbreaks in the country, adding that a committee of experts had been assembled to comprehensively address the matter.
Jan highlighted that government-run hospitals were operating on high alert to manage both pink eye cases and vector-borne diseases like the dengue virus. He said the eye infection was spreading fast in Punjab with hundreds of patients thronging hospitals daily due to the viral infection.
“The scourge of dengue virus and eye infection will be controlled through collective efforts and coordinated strategy and though it is a difficult task but still achievable,” the report quoted him as saying.