August 21 2012 at 01:00
Kibaale is battling a fresh outbreak of cholera that has so far claimed two lives, just weeks after the deadly Ebola hit the mid-western district.
Dr Dan Kyamanywa, the district health officer, said they are planning to hold joint hygiene and sanitation campaigns with health workers and volunteers of Uganda Red Cross. He said cholera has been a recurrent problem along the Lake Albert shores which is mainly attributed to the disposal of waste in the lake by the fishing communities. “It is embarrassing because these people lack latrines and they defecate in the waters of Lake Albert [which they] consume,” said Dr Kyamanywa.
Cholera has been confirmed in Ndaiga Sub-county. On Saturday, eight people were confirmed to have contracted the disease, two of which died. “At the time our health workers reached the shores, most of the patients lacked fluids and drugs,” said Mr Sunday Issa, the manager Uganda Red Cross Kibaale branch.
Mr Issa said the disease is likely to spread due to the unsanitary conditions in the fishing sites of Kitebere and Ndaiga. This is the second time cholera has broken out on the Lake Albert shores this year. In May and Junem the disease claimed five lives and 20 others admitted to Mpeefu Health Centre.
The cholera outbreak comes at a time when cases of Ebola are being reported across the border in the DR Congo according to humanitarian health NGO, Medicens Sans Frontiers MDF. Two ebola deaths have been reported.
A doctor working with MSF told Daily Monitor that they are expanding emergency response in DR Congo with special attention being paid to a village known as Ebola where the disease is said to be spreading fast.
A doctor working with MSF told Daily Monitor that they are expanding emergency response in DR Congo with special attention being paid to a village known as Ebola where the disease is said to be spreading fast.
Second outbreak
The government and partner organisations have in the last few weeks struggled to contain the Ebola Sudan strain which struck Kibaale District, claiming at least 22 lives. Two patients are still undergoing treatment at Kagadi Hospital.
The government and partner organisations have in the last few weeks struggled to contain the Ebola Sudan strain which struck Kibaale District, claiming at least 22 lives. Two patients are still undergoing treatment at Kagadi Hospital.
Meanwhile, development partners are continuing to donate items for the fight against Ebola in Kibaale.
Over the weekend, World Vision donated assorted items, including disinfectants, worth Shs108m for patients and health workers in Kagadi Hospital. Mr Kenneth Kusemererwa, the programme manager World Vision Kibaale, said: “They have to be put to good use since we need a happy community free from diseases.” http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Kibaale+grapples+with+fresh+cholera+outbreak+after+Ebola/-/688334/1483880/-/wmhga8z/-/index.html
