Press Release

Acute Haemorrhagic Conjunctivitis (Red-eye) in the Caribbean

CAREC's laboratory received eye-swabs from four countries and has identified an organism called Enterovirus to be the cause of current Red-eye outbreak. Laboratories in four other countries have also identified Enterovirus to be the cause. This virus is a common cause of red-eye and was also identified as the cause of the last red-eye outbreak in the Caribbean in 1998. Further sub-typing of the virus is going on.

CAREC began receiving reports from several countries since May about increased numbers of persons with the condition, and says that the Red-eye outbreak in the Caribbean is still occurring. Countries that reported increased numbers include Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Curaçao, Bonaire, St. Maarten, French Guyana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Martinique, St. Lucia, Suriname and Turks and Caicos Islands.

The symptoms of Red-eye are redness, swelling and pain, often in both eyes for 1-2 weeks. Red-eye is highly contagious. It is mainly spread through contact with the discharge from infected eyes, either directly or indirectly on tissues, rags, etc.

While there is no specific treatment or vaccine for this disease, simple painkillers and management of any secondary bacterial infection may be needed. Severe pain is a sign to visit your doctor. Spread from person to person can be controlled by practising good personal hygiene. Specific control measures include:

• Frequent hand-washing
• No sharing of towels, rags, eye-make-up, etc
• Restrict contact with persons with red-eye. It is recommended that persons with red-eye should remain at home until it resolves (1-2 weeks)
• Reduce overcrowding wherever possible