Officials from WHO putting on Ebola Protective gears at Kagadi Hospital.
By RONALD TUSIIME AND AGATHA AYEBAZIBWE
Posted Saturday, July 28 2012 at 23:30
Posted Saturday, July 28 2012 at 23:30
Ugandan and international health experts are fighting an outbreak of the deadly Ebola disease in Kibaale district, western Uganda.
The disease reported in Nyanswiga village, Nyamarunda sub-county has killed 14 family members and a clinical officer at Kagadi Hospital who initially attended to the patients.
According to Uganda’s Health ministry, 20 cases have so far been recorded. Of these, 14 had been confirmed dead by Saturday.
Three samples taken from the dead confirmed they succumbed to Ebola attack.
The first confirmed case of survivor was a woman, 30, who was admitted on July 23, 2012, with fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain.
“Her condition is fairly stable,” said the ministry of Health in a statement.
According to the Health ministry, a national taskforce to be based at Mulago National Referral Hospital has been activated.
Kibaale and neighbouring districts have been instructed to activate their district taskforces to coordinate the management of the outbreak.
US experts
Also a team of experts from US Centre for Disease Control is already on the ground in Kibaale supporting the response.
Many local radio stations have been reporting about a mysterious disease that has been claiming lives in the district since the beginning of July.
The ministry of Health has issued precautionary measures by creating strict isolation centres and nurses have been intructed to put on protective gear at all times.
A team of health officials from World Health Organisation has joined the US team based at Mulago and Laco hospitals to contain the Ebola outbreak in Kibaale district.
Residents surrounding Kagadi town that was the source of the outbreak have started to migrate to other areas for fear of contracting the disease.
“We have to move to safer places because we can easily get infected by this disease here,” said Omuhereza Kugonza in Nyamarunda sub-county. http://www.nation.co.ke/News/High+alert+as+Ebola+outbreak+kills+14++/-/1056/1465798/-/i6ex7tz/-/index.html
