CAIRO: The total number of cases infected with conjunctivitis, also referred to as pinkeye, amount to 2,637, the majority of which are in Dakahliya, the Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.
According to the ministry spokesperson Abdel-Rahman Shahin, 2,281 of the cases are in Dakahliya, 258 in Port Said and 99 in Damietta.
The percentage of infections decreased by 50 percent throughout the past 24 hours, Shahin was quoted in the statement as saying.
Most of the cases, according to recent reports, are school students.
Minister of Health Hatem El-Gabaly pointed out during a cabinet meeting Sunday that the main reason behind the outbreak is the black cloud stemming from rice straw burning, which causes high rates of pollution. He also ruled out shutting schools because of the outbreak
Conjunctivitis is an inflammation or an infection of the transparent membrane, conjunctiva, that lines the eyelid and part of the eyeball.
The inflammation causes small blood vessels in the conjunctiva to become more prominent, which causes the pink or red cast to the whites of a person’s eyes.
The cause of pinkeye is commonly a bacterial or viral infection, or an allergic reaction. It rarely affects one’s eye sight.
Viral and bacterial pinkeye are contagious and can spread easily.
