Summary

An outbreak of viral conjunctivitis is currently underway in the French West Indies.

Routinely monitored public health indicators show that the outbreaks are continuing:

• In Guadeloupe, the outbreak that began in Marie-Galante in May subsequently spread throughout the archipelago in June. The highest number of conjunctivitis cases was recorded in early July. The outbreak appears to be beginning to decline, but this trend remains to be confirmed over the coming weeks.

• In Martinique, the conjunctivitis outbreak continues to decline, a trend that began at the end of June.

• In the Northern Islands, the outbreak that began in Saint Martin two months ago appears to be starting to decline, but this trend remains to be confirmed over the coming weeks. In Saint Barthélemy, the epidemiological situation regarding conjunctivitis remains moderate.

Samples collected in Guadeloupe and Martinique have identified the highly contagious enterovirus Coxsackie virus A24v in both territories. Additionally, samples collected in Martinique have also identified adenovirus.

To date, there have been no reports indicating an unusual occurrence of severe cases.

In the Caribbean and South America, the conjunctivitis outbreak in French Guiana has ended.However, an outbreak is currently active in the Bahamas, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Saint Lucia, Suriname, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Cuba (http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task;=doc_view&Itemid;=270&gid;=40941⟨=en).