Nine people have lost their eyes due to self-medication of hemorrhagic conjunctivitis in northern Mozambique.

Nine people lost their eyes in Nampula province in northern Mozambique due to “irreversible perforations” caused by the use of substances such as urine and fuel against hemorrhagic conjunctivitis, a hospital source said on Wednesday.

“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, told a private channel. STV

Two more of the 23 patients hospitalized with hemorrhagic conjunctivitis are also at risk of losing their eyes as they also suffered permanent injuries, the ophthalmologist added.

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

Others, he continued, resorted to fuels and herbs in an attempt to cure the disease.

“They have complications ranging from wounds to eye punctures,” he added.

Despite the seriousness of the cases mentioned, the number of cases of hemorrhagic conjunctivitis in Nampula is decreasing, which led to the opening of the ophthalmology department of Nampula Central Hospital to the general public, after which this service was reserved only for patients with this disease. disease,” Sandhia Sumbane 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.

As of March 11, according to official data, cases of conjunctivitis were reported in at least seven provinces of Mozambique, most of them in Nampula in northern Mozambique.

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.

“As a form of solidarity in the face of hemorrhagic conjunctivitis that affects our population, we want to encourage the community to come together and heed the recommendations of public health authorities to mitigate the spread of this disease and protect the health of everyone.” , he filed an appeal.