As schools remain shut in Dimapur, Chümoukedima, Niuland and Mon districts due to outbreak of conjunctivitis and dengue, doctors here have expressed concern over the rapid rise in cases. When contacted, some of the doctors mentioned that patients were visiting them on a daily basis with symptoms of the infection.
Speaking to Nagaland Post, medical superintendent of Bethel Medical Centre Kohima, Dr. Kezhalezo (Kezha) Angami mentioned that the cases of conjunctivitis was increasing every day, and emphasised preventive measures to control further spread of the disease. He advised the public to maintain good hygiene practices such as regular handwashing, avoiding close contact with infected individuals, and keeping the surroundings clean to minimise mosquito breeding sites.
Regarding the viral eye infection/conjunctivitis, he said the disease could be common during the rainy season due to increased humidity and moisture, creating favourable conditions for the growth and spread of bacteria and viruses.
However, Kezha admitted that the current outbreak of eye diseases was rare and termed it unprecedented, adding that the severity or number of cases was significantly higher than what was typically observed during the normal rainy season in the past. He also mentioned that dengue cases were being reported from Kohima, primarily from among those people who had a recent travel history.
Meanwhile, Dr Neisakho Mere from the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) told this correspondent that there has been rampant use of rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for dengue. He mentioned that RDT was not approved by the government and result of the test should be counted as only a probability.
He advised hospitals and clinics to restrain the use of RDT as the test sometimes gave false positive result, causing public to panic. Refer to the table for conjunctivitis cases registered in Nagaland from July to August as per Health Department data.