Home treatments for conjunctivitis worry Mozambican authorities

The growing number of reported cases of severe complications of hemorrhagic conjunctivitis during the current outbreak in Mozambique following home treatment and self-medication is causing blindness and concern among health authorities in Sofala.

“At the moment we have 36 patients hospitalized due to severe complications, (…) it is difficult for us to say whether they will lose their vision because the degree of infection and inflammation is high, and at the moment we are fighting to reduce the inflammation,” he explained Clinical Director of the Central Hospital da Beira (HCB) in the province of Sofala Ana Tambo.

The issue, he explained, is that a large number of patients suffering from conjunctivitis during the outbreak that has affected several provinces of the country are resorting to self-medication using inappropriate methods reported in other provinces, rinsing the eyes with urine, lemon. or chili pepper.

“Some will definitely lose their vision, this is due to poor practice,” the clinic admitted, adding that some of these patients will have to undergo surgery.

Despite this, the clinical director of HCB, the largest hospital in the center of the country, said that in recent days the number of cases of conjunctivitis has dropped significantly, from the previous 150 per day to about 50: “We can say that at the moment the numbers tend to fall with every during the day.”

Lusa said on Friday that 11 more people were left blind in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province after resorting to “home treatments” for conjunctivitis.

“We had three cases with complete loss of vision in both eyes. The remaining eight had incomplete vision loss, that is, only one eye in each of them was completely lost,” said clinical director of Pemba Provincial Hospital, Cristovao Matsinhe.

It’s about “at-home treatment for conjunctivitis, focusing on urine drops in the eyes, toothpaste, beach water and chili peppers.”

The province of Cabo Delgado was one of the first to be hit by the outbreak of conjunctivitis, with more than a thousand cases reported daily, a number that has now dropped to 50, according to local authorities.

Data provided by the clinical director of Pemba Provincial Hospital shows that 11,174 cases of bacterial conjunctivitis and 155 cases of hemorrhagic conjunctivitis have been reported to date.

“At the moment, we have the situation more or less under control. In recent weeks, we have been reporting less than 50 cases of hemorrhagic conjunctivitis every day, which satisfies us,” he assured.

Nine people have gone blind in Nampula province in northern Mozambique due to “irreversible perforations” caused by the use of substances such as urine and fuel against haemorrhagic conjunctivitis.

“Nine patients had to have their eyes removed. These patients were admitted with severe perforations” and “in an irreversible phase” due to self-medication for hemorrhagic conjunctivitis, Sandhya Sumbane, an ophthalmologist at Nampula Central Hospital, said on Wednesday.

“There are cases when patients wash themselves with urine, some with water and soap in the form of drops in the eyes, these are patients who have suffered hemorrhagic conjunctivitis and most of them did not go to the medical unit, they preferred to self-medicate,” added Sandiya Sumbane.

On March 22, Agostinho Vuma, president of the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA), warned in Maputo that an outbreak of conjunctivitis affecting several regions of the country was affecting the productivity of companies.

“The emergence of an outbreak of conjunctivitis is affecting productivity. Companies are laying off affected employees who are staying at home for more than 15 days, which is affecting the productivity of companies,” Vuma said.

The Ministry of Health recently reported that the number of Mozambicans infected with adenovirus, which causes hemorrhagic conjunctivitis, has increased to about 17 thousand, especially in the provinces of Nampula and Sofala.