The summer and autumn of each year are the peak seasons for the outbreak of pink eye disease

“Pink eye disease”, whose scientific name is acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis, is an infectious disease caused by virus. It usually breaks out in summer and autumn, being extremely infectious and epidemic. Due to improper prevention and treatment, one person who suffers from this disease may infect it to his/her family members, classmates, colleagues and other people. In summer, temperature rises, students begin their summer vacation, and the number of the people who swim increases, which increase the possibility of pink eye disease transmission. According to the statistics of Beijing Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, 384 people suffered from pink eye disease in Beijing in 2008, with the incidence rate reaching 2.35/100,000 people.

Acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis is mainly infected via touch, with the most common form being “eyes-hands-eyes” infection. When people touch the articles polluted by the tear and eye secretion of the people who suffer from pink eye disease, e.g. towel, handkerchief and washbasin etc, they will be infected; when the pink eye disease virus pollutes water source, e.g. swimming pool and public bath, the epidemic transmission of pink eye disease will be triggered. Besides, the latent period of pink eye disease is relatively short, being usually 18 to 48 hours. And the disease develops quickly and can be healed in about one week.

In 1988, Beijing witnessed the epidemic of pink eye disease, causing the suspension of classes, production and market, and severely affecting the normal life of citizens and social order.

When acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis breaks out, the patients usually feel there is foreign body in their eyes, suffer from photophobia and lachrymation, and have small amount of mucous secretion. Over 70% of the patients show the symptom of punctuate hemorrhage or splinter hemorrhage under bulbar conjunctiva, and even the whole bulbar conjunctiva. This is what is called the “pink eye disease”. Some patients also show the symptoms of fever, nasal discharge, angina, and lymph node enlargement in front of ears and below the jaw apart from the symptoms in eyes.

The most important way to prevent pink eye disease is to form good personal hygiene habit. First, you should wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your eyes with hands; and then you should use a separate basin for washing face and avoid sharing eye-shadow, mascara and other eye cosmetics with other people. Once there are pink eye disease patients around you, you should avoid directly touching the articles used by them; once you touch them, you should wash hands immediately. In addition, the articles used by the patients should be disinfected by boiling.

At present, no specific therapeutics is available to treat pink eye disease. So we hereby remind audience to prevent “pink eye disease” in summer.