A massive pink eye outbreak in American Samoa has prompted its officials to extend its public school closures for the rest of the week.

The Samoan pink eye outbreak was first reported in school on Friday. Schools were scheduled to reopen Wednesday but so far only four schools located in the remote island group of Manua are back in session.

The Huffington Post reports that local Samoan government officials believe that the infection -- also known as conjunctivitis -- started from a neighboring island where an outbreak closed schools for a month last week.

Twenty-four schools are currently closed with nearly 2,300 students and more than 100 teachers affected by the outbreak.

Salu Hunkin-Finau, Director of the American Samoa Education Department commented on the pink eye upsurge.

"These are alarming numbers of students and staff affected," Hunkin-Finau said. "We are giving our children and all our personnel the days as well as the weekend to take care of themselves and also protect others. "In order to help prevent the further spread of the pink eye virus, we highly recommend that all affected teachers and workers stay home. Please keep your child out of reach of those that are affected by the pink eye."

Pink eye is defined as the inflammation of the mucous membrane that lines the inner surface of the eyelids. It is usually cause by a bacterial infection, viral infection, or an allergic reaction. Symptoms of conjunctivitis include red eye, swelling of the conjunctiva, and eye watering. Although pink eye is common and usually not serious, patients are advised to stay home as the infections tends to be very contagious.

Ways to prevent pink eye include washing hands before and after touching your face, not sharing eye makeup, not sharing contact lens equipment, and wearing eye protection when in the wind, heat, or cold.

For more information on pink eye and prevention tips, click here.