Warning about flies spreading pink eye after floods

Just looking at each other does not easily transmit pink eye.

According to the Ministry of Health, during and after floods, many microorganisms, dust, garbage, and waste flow into many places, causing environmental pollution and potentially causing many epidemic risks; creating favorable conditions for bacteria, viruses, and disease vectors to grow and cause diseases in humans.

Common diseases during the rainy season are: acute diarrhea, respiratory diseases, eye diseases, skin diseases, dengue fever, etc. Among them, common eye diseases are conjunctivitis (pink eye), blepharitis, and lacrimal gland inflammation. Pink eye is a disease that is very easy to break out.

Flies land on dirty trash, waste, and eye discharge, easily transmitting pathogens, especially pink eye.

PHOTO: MINISTRY OF HEALTH DOCUMENTS

According to Dr. Hoang Cuong, Central Eye Hospital, pink eye usually starts with one eye being red, swollen, and having a lot of discharge that makes the eyelids stick together, feeling like there is sand in the eye. A few days later, the other eye does the same. This is also the incubation period for a new infection to spread to friends, family, colleagues or anyone who comes into close contact with the patient through breath, saliva; through direct contact through the hand-eye route, sharing objects.

"It's not so easy that just looking at each other can cause pink eye, but imagine this: eyes full of virus get on hands, hands spread to objects held, other people hold those objects and get it on their hands and then bring it to their eyes... Like that, in the house, on the street, in elevators, supermarkets, workplaces, not to mention talking close to each other, hugging, kissing, and having sex can also cause infection," Dr. Cuong noted.

Doctor of Ophthalmology, Bach Mai Hospital (Hanoi), examines eyes and advises on disease prevention after storms and floods

According to Dr. Cuong, to prevent infection with the agent that causes pink eye, it is necessary to wash hands many times with soap or specialized hand sanitizer, persistently wear a mask when in contact with the source of the disease, wash eyes in the morning and when returning from work, and regularly disinfect eye examination equipment.

In fact, not everyone gets pink eye and when they do, they have to go to the hospital. Full-blown pink eye will appear in both eyes. Using normal saline solution will cure the disease after 7-10 days. Many people only have a transient illness and recover before they can take medicine. Especially those who are infected at the end of the infection chain.

However, Dr. Cuong also noted: "In cases where the disease persists after 7 days, with glare, blurred vision, or excessive tearing, these are considered abnormal and require an eye examination to be prescribed appropriate medication by an ophthalmologist."

Prevent the spread of pink eye and fly-borne diseases

According to the Ministry of Health, pink eye or acute conjunctivitis is a seasonal disease that causes small-scale epidemics in families, often caused by the adenovirus group. Some other strains of viruses can also cause pink eye with the same progression and clinical symptoms such as enterovirus, coxsackie virus, etc.

To prevent the disease, the Ministry of Health recommends that people do not wash their faces or bathe with dirty water; do not let children bathe or play with dirty water; wash their hands with soap and clean water; and do not share towels or basins with people with pink eye.

Apply eye drops (Chloramphenicol 0.4% or Argirol 1%) to all persons at risk of exposure to contaminated water.

The Ministry of Health recommends that attention should be paid to killing flies because flies transmit pink eye disease from sick people to healthy people. Flies are intermediaries that transmit many pathogens to humans from polluted places. Flies reproduce very quickly and in large numbers, so whenever a disease caused by flies occurs, the disease spreads quite quickly.

Effective measures to prevent flies are to carry out sanitation work, improve environmental sanitation conditions, eliminate or limit fly breeding sites; eliminate sources of contamination and prevent flies from coming into contact with food, objects and people.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/canh-bao-ve-loai-ruoi-lay-truyen-benh-dau-mat-do-sau-lu-lut-185240923102754116.htm