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Auckland has been hit by a potentially serious eye infection - the largest reported outbreak of its type in New Zealand.
The region's Public Health Service says in its latest Public Health Quarterly Report that since the start of last year, around 80 cases of conjunctivitis caused by adenovirus type 8 have been confirmed in Auckland.
Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the transparent membrane which covers the white of the eye and lines the inside of the eyelids. It can lead to inflammation of the cornea, the transparent front part of the eyeball.
The total number of cases is thought to be much higher than 80, public health medicine registrar Dr Graeme Lindsay says in the report. This is because not all people with the illness see a doctor or have a swab (sample) taken for laboratory testing.
"This highly infectious virus can cause a severe and prolonged painful conjunctivitis in those infected, with the potential to cause visually disabling corneal lesions, which can persist for months to years." Symptoms include a watery discharge.
The Institute of Environmental Science and Research says in its Public Health Surveillance Report for June that from last July to March, 75 cases of adenovirus type 8 were reported nationally, making it the largest outbreak of the virus ever reported in New Zealand.
The outbreak has mainly affected Auckland. The institute says "epidemic keratoconjunctivitis" (EKC) is linked with type 8 and two other types of the virus. "The infection is frequently transmitted via the ophthalmologist's hands, contaminated instruments, or eye drops."
Eye virus
* Adenovirus is spread mainly by droplets from the nose or mouth, or by direct contact with eyes from fingers or other objects
* Treatment can include cold compresses, decongestant, antihistamines, antibiotics (until the case is proven to be viral rather than bacterial) and, under eye-specialist advice, corticosteroids.
