Clusters of viral pink eye cases have been reported in Kanawha and Putnam counties since late July, prompting public health officials to investigate the cause and spread of the disease.
Janet Briscoe, the director of epidemiology for the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, said the agency is looking into several cases of the virus in both counties.
"You hear 'pink eye' all the time, and it can be caused by either bacteria or certain viruses," she said. "When it's bacterial, you get antibiotic drops and it clears up. It's a little bit harder to treat a viral illness in the eye, because there isn't really a treatment, per se."
Briscoe said that because viral pink eye, or keratoconjunctivitis, can't be treated with antibiotics in the same way bacterial pink eye can, it must be allowed to run its course.
"We are working very closely in the community to make sure this is identified and to get the word out, so that doctors can be on the alert if they were to see people present with this type of conjunctivitis," Briscoe said.
The problem is, "you can't really tell," she added. "Pink eye symptoms, whether it's a virus that causes it or bacteria, are pretty much the same. In fact, they're often caused by a virus and doctors treat with antibiotic drops that really aren't effective."
The health department sent an alert to health care providers in both counties advising them on how to deal with suspected viral cases. The alert notes that doctors should not use contents from eye drop bottles on more than one patient, and doctors and nurses who contract viral pink eye should not see patients for at least 14 days after the onset of symptoms, as viral pink eye can remain contagious for two weeks.
The virus is very hardy, according to the alert, and can remain alive on surfaces for long periods of time, increasing the need for doctors' offices to maintain good hygiene practices.
Brenda Isaac, lead nurse for Kanawha County Schools, said the school system has not seen an increase in cases of pink eye so far this year. According to Isaac, both bacterial and viral pink eye infections are common during this time or year, and some students can even develop allergy-induced pink eye.
"I haven't had any reports of a high number of cases," she said. "Viral and bacterial look very similar, and they'll need to get checked out, and a lot of them are started on antibiotics, but when the antibiotics prove ineffective, then you know it's viral. Then you've got allergy-induced pink eye, which is a lot different, and you can usually tell what that is. There's nothing you can do for that one except try to provide relief."
The West Virginia Bureau for Public Health has also distributed an alert to healthcare providers across West Virginia as a precaution.
Reach Lydia Nuzum at lydia.nuzum@wvgazette.com, 304-348-5189 or follow @lydianuzum on Twitter.