Surto de conjutivite
Maputo, 21 Feb (AIM) – The health authorities in the northern Mozambican Province of Cabo Delgado, have reported an outbreak of conjunctivitis, with over 250 confirmed cases in a week.
According to the clinical director of the hospital in the provincial capital, Pemba (HPP), Cristóvão Matsinhe, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the health authorities are stepping up efforts to make local communities aware of the need to comply with personal and collective hygiene measures.
“As of Monday, in the whole of Cabo Delgado province, 282 cases had been registered at the health unit level, but the trend is still upwards”, said Matsinhe, explaining the sector currently has enough drugs to treat the disease.
Matsinhe urged infected citizens to avoid self-medication and traditional treatment, otherwise the situation would worsen.
“At the moment, there is a very high level of contagion characterized by the exponential increase in the number of cases arriving at our health units. We realize that the cases arriving at the health unit are not all of the cases, but rather the tip of the iceberg. That’s why we recommend reinforcing personal hygiene measures, as well as collective hygiene and sanitation”, he said.
“We recommend washing your hands with soap and water, as well as your face, to reduce the risk of infection. We also recommend that you avoid being in crowded places without much ventilation, as this also increases the spread from person to person”, he added.
However, it is practically impossible to avoid crowded places in some regions of Cabo Delgado Province because of extreme violence, carried out by Islamic terrorists. Lately, the attacks have been on the increase and the population has been looking for shelter in resettlement centres, which means it is impossible to avoid crowded places.
In its last report on Mozambique, the United Nations Refugee Agency says that nearly 1 million people have fled their homes over the last five years in Cabo Delgado as a result of violence.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Health has also reported an outbreak of hemorrhagic conjunctivitis in the northern city of Nampula, where 33 cases have been confirmed since 10 February.
In a statement, the Ministry said that most of the cases were registered among primary and secondary school students, aged between 11 and 15, in the Muhala neighbourhood.
(AIM)
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