The number of viral conjunctivitis patients has increased in Gorkha in the last one week.

According to the Gorkha Lions Service Centre, 60 percent of those who came for an eye examination are suffering from the communicable disease. The centre said that the number of patients coming for eye treatment at the facility in Gorkha Municipality-6 has also increased in the past week.

Bishwa Prakash Aryal, administrative officer at the centre, said that out of 493 people who came to the centre for an eye examination, 295 people were diagnosed with viral conjunctivitis.

Aryal informed that patients come for treatment with problems such as pink or red eyes, swelling of the insides and outsides of the eyelids, itchy and watery eyes, runny nose, cough, sore throat, and fever among others.

The centre also informed that among those visiting the medical facility most of them are children as the disease generally affects children more than adults and also people with low immunity, as they are the most vulnerable.

In Chitwan, three local units have decided to shut down schools following an outbreak of viral conjunctivitis.

Bharatpur Metropolitan City Education Officer Mahendra Prasad Paudel informed that all educational institutions in the metropolis will be closed from Monday to Friday owing to the spread of the disease.

Similarly, educational institutions in Ratnanagar Municipality will also be closed from Monday to Wednesday, according to Education Officer Badri Narayan Sharma.

Khairhani Municipality, which had issued a notice on Friday to shut down schools in the area until Monday, has extended the closure by two more days until Wednesday since the disease is yet to be brought under control, said municipal Education Officer Raju Baniya.

According to Ram KC, the information officer at the Chitwan district health office, the outbreak of the viral disease in Khairhani started last week.

KC informed that the number of patients suffering from eye-related problems has doubled at the Bharatpur Eye Hospital.

A total of 2,357 people came to the main hospital and other auxiliary centres and units on Sunday, said Daya Shankar Chaudhary, senior administrator of the hospital.

“More than 60 percent of them are suffering from the viral infection,” said Chaudhary. “The health office has appealed to the general public to take precautions as the infection of the disease may increase.”

Conjunctivitis is a communicable disease that causes inflammation of the conjunctiva, which is the thin layer of tissue on the inside of the eyelids. It can be caused by a viral or bacterial infection. Viral infections typically have a watery discharge, while bacterial infections have a yellowish discharge.

Similarly, there are also allergic, toxic, and nonspecific types of conjunctivitis. It is also commonly known as eye flu or pink eye.

This disease is more common during the months of March, April, July, and August due to a rise in humidity and contamination of water as bacteria and viruses thrive in this season leading to a rise in eye infection cases.