As many as 12 lakh students in Chennai will be subjected to eye screening in the wake of rising cases of conjunctivitis in the district. This was announced by Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian after he conducted an inspection at the Government Ophthalmic Hospital in Egmore on Tuesday, September 12.

Subramanian said that the screening will be carried out for 10 days from September 16 to 25 in all schools, including private ones, with the help of around 400 doctors. "Now there are only five conjunctivitis patients at Madras Eye ward in Government Ophthalmic Hospital," he said, as per a report by The New Indian Express.

The minister informed that lab studies revealed 14 people were infected with either adenovirus or enterovirus. "Conjunctivitis is spreading in other states as well. Recently, the Union Health Ministry said conjunctivitis cases have been increasing in Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra Rajasthan, Assam, Tripura Meghalaya, Mizoram and New Delhi," he said.

Subramanian further mentioned that all the government medical college hospitals had adequate stock of medicines. "Instructions have been issued to stock the medicines in all government hospitals. Doctors in Primary Health Centres have been given training to treat the infection," the minister added, as per TNIE.