One thousand six hundred cases of the viral conjunctivitis were registered in the Suva subdivision alone in the past 14 days, the Ministry of Health confirmed yesterday.

The virus is commonly known as Red/Pink Eye (cika in Fiji).

“There is no outbreak,” the national adviser for Communicable Diseases, Dr Mike Kama, clarified yesterday.

“It is only a surge. At this point of time it is only limited to Suva subdivision.”

Dr Kama said they were treating at least 50 to 100 cases of conjunctivitis daily. This is a clarification where the other newspaper had reported that 5200 cases of the red eye virus were recorded daily.

“The data for Suva subdivision in the last two days showed that we have registered about 700 cases of conjunctivitis,” he said.

“There are about 100 cases of conjunctivitis in Eastern Division.”

He said Conjunctivitis was not new here because it comes every year and the ministry registers about 6000 to 7000 cases annually.

“Suva Subdivision registers about 1600 to 2000 cases every year of those 6000 to 7000 cases,” he said.

“Conjunctivitis is a highly contagious disease and it is spread especially through hand to eye contact and person to person contact.”

The ministry’s chief pharmacist Apolosi Vosanibola reiterated that there was a shortage of eye drops prescribed for conjunctivitis.

“This has happened because of the surge in demand for the eye drops,” he said. “The eye drops will be available in hospitals, health centres and  pharmacies by today.”

Edited by Naisa Koroi

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