Lucknow, Aug 9 : Lucknow is witnessing a surge in cases of conjunctivitis or eye flu, particularly among schoolchildren. Various hospitals have reported a rise in the number of cases by more than 50 per cent in a week with most patients in the 10-16 years age group. Medical superintendent of Lok Bandhu Hospital Dr Ajay Tripathi said conjunctivitis cases rise generally during the monsoon season. In the past one week, however, the ophthalmology outpatient department of the hospital has witnessed a five-fold surge in eye flu cases, from 30 daily to about 150 every day. Similar is the situation at the King George's Medical University. Ophthalmologist Prof S.K. Bhaske said humid conditions and unhygienic environment are main causes of the infection. Dr Akansha Singh, an eye surgeon in Balrampur Hospital, said people should seek medical help instead of going for home remedies. "A significant surge in conjunctivitis cases has been reported by ophthalmologists from both private and government setups,' associate professor at SGPGIMS Dr Rachna Agarwal said. An official spokesperson from the medical institute said that the outbreak has prompted health authorities to take swift action to address the situation, with experts looking into the details of each case with pathological and microbiological aids for identification of the causative agent and determination of the extent of the outbreak. 'Patients are being made to undergo viral culture and multiplex real-time PCR among other tests for the purpose. So far, most cases belonged to enterovirus, followed by adenovirus and human herpes virus,' said Dr Atul Garg, associate professor, virology unit, department of microbiology, SGPGI. Head of department of ophthalmology, Professor Vikas Kannaujia recommended frequent hand-washing and refraining from touching eyes. /IANS