Swazi Observer

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GOVT CONFIRMS PINK EYE OUTBREAK

By PHEPHILE MOTAU | 2024-04-11

Parents have been advised to keep their children at home and to isolate those who show ‘pink eye’ symptoms following an outbreak of conjunctivitis.

The advisory was issued by the ministry of health following reports of outbreaks in the Manzini and Lubombo regions where affected pupils were sent home.

The pupils were from St Michael’s High, Mambane Secondary, Siteki Nazarene and Mnyafula Primary.

St Michael’s pupils were sent back home on Tuesday morning after some cases were identified on Monday. The pupils were advised to seek medical attention.

Chairperson of the Public Health Emergency Management Core Team, Dr Masitsela Mhlanga, said anyone could get pink eye, but family members and close friends of someone with infectious conjunctivitis were at increased risk.

Spread

Dr Mhlanga said it was, therefore, advisable to isolate patients with pink eye so as not to spread the infection within the family

“Children with pink eye should be kept out of school to prevent the disease from spreading to other pupils,” said Dr Mhlanga, adding that it was best to limit contact with infected persons until the symptoms go away.

He further advised that infected persons could return to school or work when the itching, pain, and tearing stopped.

Pink eye is defined as an inflammation of the transparent membrane that lines the eyelid and eyeball.

This membrane is called the conjunctiva.

According to information sourced from the internet, when small blood vessels in the conjunctiva become swollen and irritated, they're more visible.

This is what causes the whites of the eyes to appear redish or pink. Pink eye is also called conjunctivities

Symptoms include redness in one or both eyes, itchiness in one or both eyes, a gritty feeling in one or both eyes, a discharge in one or both eyes that forms a crust during the night that may prevent eyes from opening in the morning and tearing.

Dr Mhlanga said 24 cases of conjunctivitis had been reported in the Lubombo region between March 22 and April 2 in five health facilities and one point of entry.

“The leading health facilities to report cases are Sihawu and Ndzevane clinics with seven reported cases so far, followed by Sitsatsaweni clinic with five cases and the least being Ubombo Sugar Hospital and Lomahasha point of entry with two cases from each,” he said.

Dr Mhlanga said cases reported by Ndzevane Clinic were aged between five and 56 years and were presented to the health facility complaining of red, itchy and painful eyes.

He also disclosed that these cases were investigated and their contacts traced, whereby 11 contacts were reached with nine having identical symptoms elicited.

“The main findings of the possible source of infection were a parent who attended a funeral in the neighbourhood and started developing conjunctivitis and spread it to the rest of family members,” explained the doctor. Although the ministry highlighted cases only in Lubombo, health practitioners revealed that more cases had been identified in other regions.

They said the outbreak was generalised, meaning it was found in all regions of the country.

Lubombo region acting Regional Education Officer, Thami Dlamini, said some schools reported having cases of pink eye schools.

Dlamini said two of the schools, Mambane and Mnyafula were on the country’s borderline with both South Africa and Mozambique, and it was possible that some of the pupils had gone to the neighbouring countries, where they contracted the disease.

Cleared

He said this should not cause panic as pink eye cleared after a few days and further advised parents to be vigilant, seek medical attention for their children as soon as they start exhibiting the symptoms.

Parents, according to the REO, should however first report to teachers, in case pupils are writing tests, then take them to healthcare facilities immediately so that they do not spread the disease to others.

Manzini REO, Sizwe Kunene, said cases were reported to his office and they had sent the schools health team to assess the situation.

Kunene said he was waiting for their report, which they would forward to the principal secretary in the ministry of education and training and await advise on what to do.

However, Minister of Education and Training, Owen Nxumalo, advised parents to take their children to hospital and not school as soon as they see pink eye symptoms.

Nxumalo said he had not yet been made aware of the issue of pink eye in schools.

He said no responsible parent should take their children to school if they are sick, but should report them to teachers and then seek medical attention.

The minister said he would engage with the principal secretary to work together with the REOs to identify affected schools and also ensure that the pupils were taken to hospital.

He further said it was by luck that the problem emerged when schools were about to close for the first term on April 18.

The Good Shepherd Mission Hospital has confirmed also receiving some cases of pink eye and advised Emaswati not to panic as it was easily treatable.

Avoid

Communications Officer, Zwelakhe Moahloli, said some of their clients had presented to the hospital with symptoms of pink eye.

Moahloli encouraged people to practice hand-washing and avoid touching their eyes.

The outbreak in the country comes a few weeks after an outbreak was declared in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

According to the KZN Department of Health, pink eye is most often caused by a viral infection, also known as viral conjunctivitis, which is highly contagious.

Meanwhile, according to SABC News, 14 000 cases of pink eye were reported by April 5, since the first cases were confirmed in February 26.

Concerns were further raised that the cases could increase sharply after the Easter holidays.

Mother, daughter affected

A parent said her child was diagnosed with the disease at a clinic in Manzini and she also had to leave work early yesterday as she suspected to have contracted the disease.

The parent suspected that her child may have contracted pink eye during athletics competitions, which were held in the Lubombo region over the weekend.

She expressed concern about other children who may contracted or spread the disease, if indeed her child had contracted it during the games.

St Michael’s Headteacher, Nokuthula Simelane, although she was reluctant to comment on the issue, said it was being dealt with by the REO and the schools health office.

Meanwhile, Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Secretary General, Lot Vilakati, extended a plea for government to monitor the situation and ensure that cases were identified so that the disease is contained.

He said schools were overcrowded with some classes accommodating more than 80 pupils, which made teachers and pupils vulnerable to contracting the disease.

Vilakati said there was also a lot of contact within schools, which made them more vulnerable as witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Further, he said government should provide nurses for schools, so that if cases like this emerge, they could be dealt with before they spread highlighting that teachers were not qualified to detect and identify illnesses.

Prevention measures for pink eye

Wash your hands frequently and keep them away from your eyes.
Avoid touching your eyes and face.
Use a fresh paper tissue if you must wipe your eyes and discard the tissue immediately after use.
Do not share your towels, wash cloths, or handkerchiefs with others.
Do not share sunglasses, eye makeup; eye drops eye medicine, or anything else that touches the eyes.
Because pink eye can be contagious, getting an early diagnosis and taking certain precautions can help limit its spread.
Schools should allow infected children to remain in school once any therapy is implemented, except when viral or bacterial conjunctivitis is accompanied by systemic signs of illness.
Infected pupils should refrain from attending school if they are unable to avoid close contact with other students.

Some facts about pink eye

Pink eye is an inflammation of the transparent membrane that lines the eyelid and eyeball. This membrane is called the conjunctiva.
When small blood vessels in the conjunctiva become swollen and irritated, they're more visible.

This is what causes the whites of the eyes to appear reddish or pink. Pink eye also is called conjunctivitis.

Pink eye is most often caused by a viral infection, also known as viral conjunctivitis, which is highly contagious.
It also can be caused by a bacterial infection, an allergic reaction or - in babies - an incompletely opened tear duct.
Though pink eye can be irritating, it rarely affects your vision.
Treatment can help ease the discomfort of pink eye.
Because pink eye can be contagious, getting an early diagnosis and taking certain precautions can help limit its spread.

Causes of pink eye