title: An outbreak of acute haemorrhagic conjunctivitis in Melaka, Malaysia.
abstract: This paper reports a second outbreak of acute haemorrhagic conjunctivitis due to coxsackievirus A24 in peninsular Malaysia. Between June 2002 and early October 2003, 10,327 patients, comprising 3,261 children and 7,066 adults, were treated for acute conjunctivitis in 11 government health clinics in the Melaka Tengah district of the state of Melaka. The figure grossly underestimates the size of the outbreak; as no patients treated in private clinics in the same district were included. Institution and household surveillance showed that the commonest presenting clinical feature of the illness was eye-discharge (91.2%), followed by foreign body sensation (81.8%), pain (78.3%) and subconjunctival haemorrhage (74.4%). The mean duration of illness was 6.5 and five days for patients with and without subconjunctival haemorrhage respectively.
authors.affiliation: Pejabat Kesihatan Daerah, Melaka Tengah, Melaka 75150, Malaysia. chuakawbing@yahoo.com.sg
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ghazali
authors.forename: K B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Chua
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Hooi
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pallansch
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Oberste
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Chua
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Mak
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003232:Conjunctivitis, Acute Hemorrhagic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D030015:Enterovirus C, Human; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged