LILONGWE: Malawi’s Health Ministry has directed the public to stop handshaking, among other unhygienic practices, to avoid the spread of conjunctivitis after the country has registered over 370 cases since January, reported Xinhua.
Issuing the directive on Thursday, Health Minister Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda said the outbreak, which was first reported in the northern border district of Karonga, has now spread to other districts.
The minister said the disease, also known as pink eye, transmits rapidly due to poor hygiene.
Conjunctivitis is a viral/bacterial disease and its symptoms include inflammation of the transparent membrane that lines the eyelid and eyeball, redness, itching and discharge from the eye. -Bernama-Xinhua