2023-09-17 03:20:27
The main cause of pink eye in Ho Chi Minh City is the Coxsackie A24 virus variant, which is more contagious, causes the disease more easily, and often causes hemorrhagic conjunctivitis.
As a result of genetic sequence analysis of conjunctivitis (pink eye) samples from Ho Chi Minh City, it was confirmed that Coxsackie virus A24 accounted for 86% of the samples, human adenovirus 54 accounted for 11%, and human adenovirus 37 accounted for 3%. Among these, Coxsackie virus A24 is a variant of the enterovirus group.
Dr Nguyen Van Binh Chau, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Health Department, said the viruses had different levels of transmission and there was no evidence to confirm that they differed in terms of causing serious illness. Among these, enteroviruses are often more contagious, causing many major infectious diseases around the world.
Coxsackie A24, along with EV70 (both in the enterovirus group), often causes hemorrhagic conjunctivitis (AHC), which is the main symptom of the current pink eye outbreak in Ho Chi Minh City. These two agents caused the first hemorrhagic conjunctivitis epidemic reported in Ghana in 1969. Since then, many epidemics of hemorrhagic conjunctivitis have been recorded in different parts of the world.
In Asia, Coxsackie A24 was first recorded in Singapore in 1970 and then appeared in infectious diseases in other countries. It was the main cause of the hemorrhagic conjunctivitis epidemic that occurred in Okinawa, Japan in 2011. In 2014, a group of enteroviruses caused hemorrhagic conjunctivitis in Thailand, with more than 300,000 cases occurring within three months.
Dr. Nguyen Minh Tien, deputy director of the City Children’s Hospital, said that while Cox’s A24’s nature is to spread quickly and cause epidemics, some other agents often cause sporadic pink eye symptoms. Studies have shown that viruses with an RNA core, such as Cox’s A24, often spread more quickly than viruses with a DNA core, such as adenovirus, which is also a fairly common cause of pink eye.
The doctor said, “Hemorrhagic conjunctivitis is not more dangerous, but it causes a lot of redness in the eyes and discharge of pink fluid, which can make patients more worried and uncomfortable. Most diseases are benign and can go away on their own.” Cox’s Cackey A24 can still cause severe, but often acute, conjunctivitis, and very rarely causes corneal edema, while adenovirus can cause chronic keratitis, which can lead to blindness.
Pink eye disease is spreading in many parts of the country. In recent days, Ho Chi Minh City recorded nearly 4,000 people suffering from pink eye. Hospitals in Hanoi, Da Nang, Can Tho and Binh Phuoc also received several times more patients for testing.
Pink eye is mainly spread through direct contact with eye, nose, or mouth secretions, such as sharing personal items with an infected person, or through towels, clothing, swimming pool water, or the hands of a sick person. Common symptoms include redness of the eyes due to conjunctival injection, sandy eyes, irritated tears, excessive bruising in the eyes, or difficulty opening the eyes when waking up.
People with pink eyes can use saline solution (sodium chloride 0.9%) or distilled water to wash their eyes. Eye drops containing antibiotics are prescribed by doctors when patients have signs of suspected bacterial infection (pain, decreased vision, photophobia, etc.) to prevent infection following removal of the pseudomembrane. Eye drops containing corticosteroids should not be used absolutely arbitrarily, since they are not only ineffective, but can also worsen the damage, prolong the duration and spread of the disease, and increase the risk of infection.
A cold compress can help reduce eye swelling and reduce eye discomfort. Wash your hands and face regularly with mild antibacterial soap. To prevent infection, avoid sharing cups, bowls, or towels with others, and avoid rubbing your eyes or swimming. Because this will make the disease worse.
Preventing the spread of viral pink eye is by regularly washing your hands with soap and using clean water. Avoid lifting your hands to rub your eyes, nose, or mouth. Do not share personal items such as eye drop bottles, towels, glasses, or masks. Clean your eyes, nose, and throat daily with saline solution, regular eye drops, and nasal mucus. After recovering from the disease, people should disinfect their glasses and wash blankets, pillows and towels to avoid reinfection.
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