SINGAPORE
- The Ministry of Health (MOH) has
confirmed that it is investigating a case of 40 students from Hong Kong who
were hit by an eye infection after a trip here last month.
A South
China Morning Post (SCMP) report on Sunday said that 40 out of 60 boys and
teens from the Discovery Bay Pirates Rugby Football Club developed the
infection after returning to Hong Kong from a rugby tournament here.
They
were aged nine to 16 and were here from April 20 to 22.
Many of
them reportedly suffered itchy, painful and red eyes and have been unable to
attend school since the start of the month.
The eye
infection is said to have also affected boys from other teams from Malaysia and
Singapore, though not as severely, said SCMP.
A
spokesman for Hong Kong's Health Department told SCMP that it is working with
the Singapore authorities to determine the cause, though it is unclear if the
boys were infected in Singapore or in Hong Kong.
He
added that their symptoms point to keratoconjunctivitis, an inflammation of the
cornea and the whites of the eye caused by micro-organisms.
An MOH
spokesman told my paper: "MOH's surveillance programme at the polyclinics
has not shown any unusual rise in the number of cases of conjunctivitis this
year.
"Conjunctivitis
is generally a self-limiting condition that is treatable."
While
medical experts whom my paper spoke to were unable to determine the exact cause
due to limited information, they suggested some likely causes.
Dr
James Pan, medical director and senior consultant of Nobel Eye & Vision
Centre in Mount Alvernia Hospital Medical Centre, said the infection could have
been caused by contact with soil which contains "spore-forming unicellular
parasites".
The
condition is called Microsporidial keratitis.
He said
that "having a bath soon after a match is good" but those who have
bathed should use a separate towel for their face and body.
He
added that they should also wash their eyes immediately should any muddy water
or soil enter the eyes.
Gwendolyn
Ng
My
Paper
For
more my paper stories click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment