Ebola in Uganda

http://www.who.int/csr/don/2012_11_17/en/index.html

17 NOVEMBER 2012 - The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Uganda has notified WHO of an outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Luweero district in Central Uganda.

Four cases, including 3 fatal, have been reported. Samples were taken from two cases, for which laboratory confirmation of Ebola virus (species Sudan) was made by PCR and serology tests at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) in Entebbe.

The Ministry of Health, WHO and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have sent a team to conduct preliminary investigation into the outbreak. Health authorities are conducting active case search and tracing close contacts of the confirmed and probable cases.

The isolation facility at Mulago hospital in Kampala is reactivated and another isolation facility at Nyimbwa Health Center IV at the epicenter is being established. The military hospital in Bombo, Luweero district is also serving a holding center until the isolation facility is properly set up at the Nyimbwa Health Center IV. Seven close contacts of the cases have developed symptoms and are being isolated in the isolation facilities.

WHO and partners, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Uganda Red Cross (URCS), African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) and Médecins-Sans-Frontières (MSF) are supporting the authorities in the response activities. Experts in the area of field epidemiology, health promotion, logistics management, and infection prevention and control are being identified to provide additional support through the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN).

With respect to this event, WHO does not recommend that any travel or trade restriction be applied to Uganda.

The Age Of The Super Virus: Why We Should Be Concerned

16/11/2012 

As of 12 November, three people - all members of the same family - were suspected to have died from the Ebola virus, a viral hemorrhagic fever, in Luwero District, 50km northwest of Kampala.
Five people who had close contact with the dec..

..The greatest worry the world has right now in medicine is the creation of the Super virus. The swine flu, Marburg and Ebola virus are deadly and the Swine flu virus spreads quickly so now imagine if you mixed both characteristics, high contagious and deadly and you have the super virus. Viruses have the ability to transform and change quickly and moving from specie to specie at will.
A cow could get a virus which is not dangerous in humans and then spread it to its herder inside of whom, if the conditions are right, it can mutate into a strain that is particularly dangerous to human beings.
The Marburg and Ebola viruses are examples of this inter species transmission from monkey to human.
Furthermore there’s the worry of drug resistance. It’s ironic because the very medicine’s that are supposed to help us will in the long run create stronger, more drug resistant strains of viruses due to their ability to evolve.
The greatest danger lies in the fact that health care sectors are woefully unprepared. Health care in Uganda..

http://www.chimpreports.com/index.php/people/health/6996-the-age-of-the-super-virus-why-we-should-be-concerned.html

Uganda must again deal with an outbreak of Ebola

THE WORLD | 11/19/2012 at 12:17

A month and a half ago after the last outbreak that has killed 17 people in western countries, the Uganda is again struck by the Ebola virus. The health minister, Christine Ondoa, announced Saturday, November 17, the identification of four cases, including three deaths. This disease caused by a virus results in a sudden rise in temperature, vomiting, diarrhea, kidney and liver failure and bleeding. The mortality rate can reach 90%.

The Ebola virus was first identified in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda border. No treatment and no vaccine exists to this day. The DRC is itself a focus of epidemic in the region of Kisangani. The end of October last bulletin of the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 52 cases.

In Uganda, it has deployed personnel, as Doctors Without Borders also to investigate the epidemic alongside the Ugandan Ministry of Health. A special unit of isolation at Mulago Hospital in Kampala, and another Nyimbwa where is the epicenter of the epidemic, were activated to be able to accommodate in terms of security people who approached sick. Five people have been in contact with the deceased were placed under medical supervision.

 

CAREGIVERS OFTEN BEEN CONTAMINATED

The Ebola virus is transmitted by direct contact with secretions and fluids (blood, saliva, semen, excretions ...) of infected people. Caregivers or caretakers of funeral care for victims and often contaminated.

The virus itself has some animal reservoir bats feeding on fruits, which can conceal the Ebola virus without doing ill. They transmit by bite, especially primates (chimpanzees, gorillas) living in the rainforest.

However, a study by Canadian researchers, published on 15 November on the website of the journal Nature Scientific Reports , shows that airborne transmission is possible. Infected pigs housed and Ebola virus in their respiratory transmitted the infectious agent macaques without any direct contact with them.

THE COUNTRY IS ALSO AFFECTED BY VIRUS MARBURG

In Uganda, during the previous outbreak, the first victim was a girl of 3 months. Of the 65 people who attended his funeral, 15 have contracted Ebola.

The country is also affected, since early October, another type of hemorrhagic fever, this time due to the Marburg virus. This epidemic is located in the southwest of the country near the border with Rwanda . Eight deaths and nine cases confirmed by laboratory tests have been reported. 

http://www.lemonde.fr/sante/article/2012/11/19/l-ouganda-fait-face-a-une-nouvelle-epidemie-de-fievre-ebola_1792578_1651302.html?

Cecafa faces Ebola scare

MONDAY, 19 NOVEMBER 2012 10:18

JOY NDOVI

The 2012 Confederation of East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) senior challenge cup hangs in balance after a fresh outbreak of Ebola virus hit the host city Kampala in Uganda.

The new Ebola outbreak was confirmed on Wednesday last week in a district 60km from the Ugandan capital.

The outbreak comes just a few days before the regional tournament kicks off on November 24.

Malawi is expected to participate in the tournament as guests alongside 11 other Cecafa region nations.

The Flames are in Group C together with Rwanda, Eretria and Zanzibar.

Football Association of Malawi(Fam) general secretary Suzgo Nyirenda said they were watching the situation in Kampala.

"We have already contacted Cecafa to give us a report on the situation in Kampala. We will make a decision based on the report we will get from Cecafa and the local organizing committee," Nyirenda said.

Kenya has also petitioned Cecafa over the outbreak.

According to a statement by Kenyan FA, dated November 17, addressed to Cecafa general secretary Nicholas Musonye, the Kenyans are seeking safety guarantees.

"It is disturbing to note that the outbreak is in Kampala, which is the only venue of the tournament. Our federation is taking the health of our players very seriously and even our government has taken measures by posting health officials at the Kenya - Uganda border."

"We therefore, request for guidance over this issue from the country's medical authorities, the regional World Health Organisation and the Kenya Ministry of Health before we send our team for the tournament."

Meanwhile, several people have been quarantined to prevent the spread of the virus that has already claimed three lives.

The latest outbreak comes after another one which killed at least 16 people in July and August in the western district of Kibaale.

Malawi was forced to withdraw from an international friendly against Uganda's Cranes in fear of the outbreak.

But Ugandan health authorities have said the situation was under control.

"The Ministry of Health once again calls upon the public to stay calm as all possible measures are being undertaken to control the situation," Christine Ondoa, Uganda's minister of health, told BBC.

Ebola, which has no cure or vaccine, is highly infectious virus known to kill quickly.

The virus can be transmitted through direct contact with the blood or secretions of an infected person.

 http://www.bnltimes.com/index.php/daily-times/headlines/sports/12512-cecafa-faces-ebola-scare

44,000 villagers deemed to be at ebola risk

New Ebola cases confirmed in Uganda

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:45 GMT

Source: Member

FAMILIES are living in fear of a deadly Ebola outbreak in rural Uganda, reports children’s charity Plan International.

The highly infectious disease has claimed five lives with two more confirmed cases in Luwero, about 40 miles north of the capital Kampala.

A further 11 suspected patients, including two children, are being treated, while 40 villagers are being monitored after coming into contact with the dead or hospitalised.

The first victims were a 29-year-old, father-of-three motorcycle taxi rider, his wife and 40-year-old sister.

About 44,000 villagers are deemed to be at risk from the disease in a poor and remote farming region.

“After two days of admission with no improvement at a community health centre, the motor bicycle taxi rider was transferred to a military hospital,” says Plan’s Country Health Specialist Dr Kenneth Buyinza.

“He had high grade fever, bloody diarrhoea and was vomiting blood and sadly died two days later.

“A few days after the taxi rider’s burial, his wife and sister were also taken ill and later succumbed to the same illness. People are worried because they’re not sure who they’ve come in contact with.”

Initial efforts to contain the outbreak have been challenged by a myth it is the work of witchcraft.

One woman was admitted to the military hospital in Luwero from a traditional healer’s home, where she went for remedies.

“In a bid to trace people who had contact with the deceased taxi rider, the district task force on Ebola visited his fellow riders but all of them thought that ‘bad people’ in the community sent the disease by powers of witchcraft,” says Dr Buyinza.

“One of the myths common in the rural areas of Uganda is that loved ones fall sick because of witchcraft.

“Quite often people with such belief, lose valuable time in seeking traditional interventions in the community, only to report to the formal health facilities too late,” he adds.

Travel is restricted to the district at the centre of the outbreak, though schools and other places of public gathering such as markets are still open.

A specialist health taskforce was immediately dispatched to the area by the government to help contain the outbreak.

“The Ministry of Health has moved fast and beefed up all the necessary measures to control the spread of this highly contagious disease,” adds Dr Buyinza.

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/new-ebola-cases-confirmed-in-uganda

quarantine of persons having been in contact with victims

quarantine of persons having been in contact with victims
Five people came into contact with these two people were placed under surveillance, two of them being placed in solitary confinement in a unit of Mulago Hospital in Kampala, according the same source. A third man died late October after showing symptoms resembling those of Ebola, but his case was not reported to authorities and no sample was taken from the corpse, she said. However, the authority in charge of the Ministry of Health does not remain without dealing with this alarming situation in his country it seeks to locate anyone having been in contact with victims. The seven doctors who took care of the one who came to Mulago and died on the spot, as well as 13 staff health for example, were quarantined she said. President Yoweri Museveni when he is speechless in the face of this new epidemic he calls his compatriots still caution. I urge you to be vigilant, avoid shaking hands, do not charge to bury someone died Ebola-like symptoms but call health workers because they know how to do , said Ugandan President. Avoid overcrowding because the disease can also be transmitted sexually , the President concluded, wishing "good luck" to his fellow . May God grant that the souls of those who died rest in eternal peace , he added.   http://journaldekin.com/article.php?aid=1572

mourners snatched a body

In Uganda, The Daily Monitor reports that one more person succumbed to the Ebola virus yesterday, bringing the death toll in the latest outbreak of the hemorrhagic fever in the country, to five. The latest victim died in hospital 30 kilometres from the capital, Kampala.

In Luweero, a burial team set up by the District Ebola Task Force to ensure that bodies of those confirmed or suspected to have Ebola are handled and buried by a special team, yesterday narrowly escaped lynching by mourners who snatched a body from the local cemetery.

According the Luweero District disease surveillance officer, the mourners armed with clubs, sticks and stones accused the special burial team of violating Muslim burial rites by wrapping the dead body in a bag. They insisted on washing the body before burial as part of the Islamic rites.

The bodies of the deceased are regarded by medical experts as still infectious. The virus is normally transmitted through bodily fluids. http://allafrica.com/stories/201211191088.html?aa_source=acrdn-f3

Ebola outbreak

Published on Nov 18, 2012

Ministry of health intensifies efforts against Ebola

The ministry of health has dispatched a team to Luweero district after reports that there is an outbreak of Ebola.

3 people have so far died as a result of a strange disease that is suspected to be Ebola.

The permanent secretary at the ministry of health Dr. Asuman Lukwago says the findings will guide the ministry on how to proceed.

He however appeals to members of the public to report any suspected cases to the nearby health Centers.

The highly infectious disease presents with high grade fever and bleeding, head headache vomiting abdominal pain and kills in a short time.  http://www.weinformers.net/2012/11/18/ministry-of-health-intensifies-efforts-against-ebola/

Ebola: Red Cross mobilises volunteers for social mobilisation

Written by Catherine Ntabadde

Monday, 19 November 2012 04:57

The Uganda Red Cross Society has mobilised 20 volunteers to support Ministry of Health and Luweero District authorities in social mobilisation of communities in Nyimbwa Sub County against Ebola. Four people have so far died due to the deadly hemorrhagic fever. The latest death is of a 29 year old woman, Halima Nakimbugwe who is said to have contracted the disease from her husband, a boda boda rider. The rider was the first person to die in the latest epidemic in Luweero district. URCS Luweero Branch Focal Person Annet Nampiima over the weekend had an orientation with the volunteers engaged in the social mobilization. The orientation focused on precautionary and safety measures, the messages to pass on to the communities. Isolation facilities have been set up at Nyimbwa Health IV and Bombo Hospital.  http://www.redcrossug.org/component/content/article/3-newsflash/395-ebola-red-cross-mobilises-volunteers-for-social-mobilisation.html

Kampala, Uganda-Emergency Message to U.S. Citizens

Emergency Message to U.S. Citizens

U.S. Embassy Kampala, Uganda
Emergency Message to U.S. Citizens
Ebola Outbreak in Uganda

November 16, 2012

This Emergency Message is to alert U.S. citizens residing and traveling in Uganda of an outbreak of Ebola virus.  On November 15, 2012, the Ugandan Ministry of Health confirmed 2 cases of Ebola Viral Hemorrhagic Fever in Luwero District.  Local media also reported on November 16 that a person in contact with one of the confirmed Ebola cases traveled to the Busoga region.  The Ugandan Ministry of Health, U.S. Centers  for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and international partners are investigating these cases to determine the extent of the outbreak and if additional cases are present.

The likelihood of contracting Ebola is considered extremely low unless there has been a direct contact with body fluids like saliva, urine, or blood of an infected person or animal or the body of someone who has died from the disease.  Since the virus spreads through direct contact with blood and other body secretions of an infected person, people living with and caring for Ebola patients are at a higher risk of becoming infected.

Over the past few months, the Government of Uganda has announced several different outbreaks of viral hemorrhagic fevers, including current advisories regarding Ebola and Marburg.  The Embassy advises all American citizens to be aware of the potential of an outbreak in Uganda and to always follow health guidelines to minimize risk or exposure.  To obtain Travel Notices from the CDC, visit the CDC's website athttp://www.cdc.gov/travel or call the CDC at 1-404-639-3534 if dialing from overseas, or at 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) if dialing from within the United States. 

For specific information on protecting yourself from Ebola viral hemorrhagic fever, the CDC has the following websites, and you are encouraged to read this information:

• Main resource page:     http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/ebola.htm
• Guidance for U.S. citizens living abroad:http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/ebola/abroad.htm
• Additional information:http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/ebola/qa.htm  http://kampala.usembassy.gov/em_11162012.html

Tension In Lyantonde As Suspected Ebola Victim Dies

A man displaying Ebola like symptoms has died and been buried by Lyantonde district health authorities. He died on Friday. http://ugandaradionetwork.com/a/story.php?s=47462

Ebola deaths at five as 40 are monitored

Officials of the Ebola task force bury the remains of Tom Kasente Njeregeza, a boda boda cyclist and resident of Kichwamba Village in Mpumudde Sub-county, Lyantonde District. Kasente died hours after he had exhibited Ebola-like symptoms and his blood samples have been taken for testing. PHOTO BY MALIK FAHD JJINGO. 

By Agatha Ayebazibwe, Dan Wandera and Samuel Kaweesa.

Task force mandated to bury Ebola victims looks on in disbelief as mourners grab dead body from them and threaten to lynch the team, insisting they must wash the corpse.

One more person succumbed to the Ebola virus yesterday, bringing the death toll in the latest outbreak of the dreaded haemorrhagic fever in the country to five.

The victim, a 29-year-old woman, died at Bombo Hospital, some 30 kilometres north of Kampala, where she was admitted on Tuesday last week.

Halima Nakimbugwe is said to have contracted the disease while nursing her husband, a boda boda rider, who was the first person to die in the latest epidemic in Luweero District.
Ministry of Health spokesperson Rukia Nakamatte, said Nakimbugwe died yesterday afternoon at Bombo Hospital, where results of the tests carried out confirmed that she had contracted Ebola.

Two other people confirmed to have been infected with the virus have been admitted to Mulago Hospital. Another 12 suspected to have been infected with the virus are also admitted to Mulago, while another six are at Bombo Hospital. “The number of confirmed Ebola patients remains the two admitted to Mulago Hospital, while the number of contacts has risen from 34 to 40. These are being monitored both in Kampala and Bombo,” Ms Nakamatte said.

Another suspect, this time from Mbarara, was also admitted to Mulago yesterday after he presented signs of the Ebola fever. His blood samples have been taken for tests and results are expected soon.

In Luweero, a burial team set up by the District Ebola Task Force to ensure that bodies of those confirmed or suspected to have Ebola are handled and buried by a special team, yesterday narrowly escaping lynching by mourners who snatched a body from the Nakatonya Muslim Cemetery in Bombo Town Council.

According the Luweero District disease surveillance officer, Mr Richard Kawenyera, the mourners armed with clubs, sticks and stones accused the special burial team of violating Muslim burial rites by wrapping the dead body in a bag. They insisted on washing the body before burial as part of the Islamic rites.

“We are worried because we do not know what happened afterwards. The blood sample was taken to the Uganda Virus Research Institute and the results had not been received to confirm whether or not he died of Ebola. If a positive result turns up, these people will have touched the body of an Ebola victim,” Mr Kawenyera said on Saturday.

The Luweero District Health Officer, Dr Joseph Okware, said the man’s body had been taken to the Nyimbwa Health Centre IV by relatives, after he was found dead in a store at Ndejje University on Friday.

“They wanted us to ascertain the cause of death since he is a resident of Kakute Village in Nyimbwa Sub-county, where there has been an Ebola outbreak. We handled the case carefully until we got information that the mourners had grabbed the body from our team.”

A special isolation centre for both the suspected and confirmed cases is being set up with the support from the Medecines Sans Frotiers, at Nyimbwa Health Centre IV, where patients are expected to be transferred to from Bombo Military Hospital on Monday (today).

In Nakasongola District, traditional healers have been banned from admitting patients whom they do not know following the Ebola outbreak which has claimed two lives in the neighbouring Luweero District.

This follows reports that an Ebola patient from Luweero may have been rushed to one of the traditional medicine men’s shrines in Nakasongola before she died. This has sparked off panic among local residents.  http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Ebola-deaths-at-five-as-40-are-monitored/-/688334/1623488/-/5irw9nz/-/index.html

Ebola Claims Another Life

Five people in Uganda have so far died from the latest outbreak of Ebola after another patient succumbed to the virus yesterday.

The latest victim, a 29-year-old woman, died at Bombo Hospital, near Luweero, where she was admitted on Tuesday last week.

Halima Nakimbugwe is said to have contracted the disease while nursing her husband, a boda-boda rider, who was the first person to die in the most recent outbreak in the country, in Luweero District, 70kms from the Capital – Kampala.

Ministry of Health spokesperson Rukia Nakamatte, said Nakimbugwe died yesterday afternoon at Bombo Hospital, where results of the tests carried out confirmed that she had contracted Ebola.

Two other people confirmed to have been infected with the virus have been admitted to Mulago Hospital. Another 12 suspected to have been infected with the virus are also admitted to Mulago, while six are at Bombo Hospital.

“The number of confirmed Ebola patients remains the two admitted to Mulago Hospital, while the number of contacts has risen from 34 to 40. These are being monitored both in Kampala and Bombo,” Ms Nakamatte said.

Another suspect from Mbarara was also admitted to Mulago yesterday after he presented signs of the Ebola fever. His blood samples have been taken for tests and results are expected soon. http://www.redpepper.co.ug/?p=2378

Emergence two new for bird flu Menoufia

The Director of the Directorate of Veterinary Medicine Menoufia, Sunday afternoon, the discovery بؤرتين two new bird flu house all of the success of Mohammed Jibril, Ali Hassan Eid بأشمون.explained Director of the Directorate of Veterinary Medicine, has been taken it samples from birds for analysis through campaigns organized by the Directorate villages and centers of the province, and the samples were the result positively infection, and it is currently being executed and buried health through with clearing houses, and take a sample of her contacts analyzed to make sure the illness or not. http://gate.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/5/35/273553/%D9%85%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B8%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%88%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B1/%D8%B8%D9%87%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D8%A4%D8%B1%D8%AA%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%AA%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%B6-%D8%A5%D9%86%D9%81%D9%84%D9%88%D9%86%D8%B2%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%86%D9%88%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%A9.aspx

Two more Ebola cases confirmed

Nurses prepare an isolation facility at Nyimbwa Health Centre in Luweero District recently

 Sunday, November 18  2012 at  02:00

Panic reported at the different health centres in Luweero, with several patients reportedly abandoning health facilities, while medical personnel claim they have not received protective gear.

Blood samples sent to the Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe by Luweero District medical department have confirmed two more Ebola positive patients, bringing the number to four, including the two who passed away last week.

The Luweero District Health Officer, Mr Joseph Okware, said blood samples for a patient admitted to Bombo Army General Hospital on Monday, have tested positive with Ebola Sudan strain and another patient who was in close contact with one of the victims and is now admitted to Mulago National Referral Hospital, has also been confirmed Ebola positive.

“We are also sending more blood samples for five people whom we suspect came in contact with some of the victims. We also have a confirmation that the woman who had crossed to Jinja yet she is a key contact person has been intercepted by the medical teams,” Dr Okware said.

Panic has been reported at the different health centres in Luweero, with several patients reportedly abandoning the health units while the medical personnel claim they have not received protective gear.

“It would be very important that the lives of the health workers are also secure because our units have not closed,” a nurse at Bamunanika Health Centre III who did not want her names mentioned, said.

However, Dr Okware said while the main focus was on the facilities at Bombo Military Hospital, Kasana Health Centre IV and Nyimbwa Health Centre, the other units, would also be taken care of.

“We are still receiving some of the protective gear,” Mr Oware said. Meanwhile, the Isolation centre for suspected and confirmed Marburg virus patients at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital has been reopened with one admission; two days after health officials announced its closure.

Sister Eugenia Namulindwa, the officer in-charge of the Isolation unit, said yesterday Mr Edward Mwesigye, 28, from Rugaaga Sub-county in Isingiro District was admitted on Friday. 
“He was bleeding from ears, vomiting blood and passing urine with blood. We took his blood samples for testing,” she said.  

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Two-more-Ebola-cases-confirmed/-/688334/1622794/-/12yj2ee/-/index.html

three deaths in Luwero District

The new outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever which broke out in Uganda in mid-November has been three deaths in Luwero District, north of Kampala, said Saturday the World Health Organization (WHO) .

"Four cases, three deaths have been reported," says the Geneva-based organization said in a statement.

In addition, seven people who had close contact with these cases developed symptoms and were placed in isolation, says the WHO, under otherwise the figures have been provided by the Ministry of Health in Uganda.

Ugandan authorities, WHO and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has sent a team to conduct a preliminary investigation on the new epidemic.

In connection with this new epidemic, WHO does not recommend any restrictions to travel or trade with Uganda.

No proven link with the epidemic of July

On 4 October, the Ugandan authorities had declared officially ended a previous Ebola outbreak, which was declared in July in the west and had killed 17 people.

Ugandan health officials said there was now no indication of a link between the two outbreaks. http://www.jeuneafrique.com/Article/DEPAFP20121118112550/oms-ouganda-msf-ebolanouvelle-epidemie-d-ebola-en-ouganda.html

Uganda Ebola Outbreak Migrating: 2 New Deaths Reported in Luweero, 35 Miles from the Capital, Kampala

A new outbreak of the deadly ebola virus has hit Uganda once again.

Sources in the Uganda Health Ministry confirmed today that 2 more people had died from the uncurable disease, both from the same family, in the small town of Luweero, a mere 35 miles Northwest of the capital city, Kampala.

A third man has also died in Luweero last month, but no cultures were taken and the incident had not been reported properly to Ugandan Health Ministry Officials.... http://guardianlv.com/2012/11/uganda-ebola-outbreak-migrating-2-new-cases-reported-in-luweero-35-miles-from-the-capital-kampala/

Luweero Asks For UGX 716M to Fight Ebola Outbreak

Luweero local government have petitioned the ministry of Health and agencies for 716 million shillings to help fight the deadly Ebola Sudan Virus. http://ugandaradionetwork.com/a/story.php?s=47450

Declaration of H5N1 avian influenza in four districts

Thanh Hoa:

Updated at: 17:24 17/11/2012

Destruction of infected poultry in Thanh Hoa. Photo: Van Thanh (Inspector) - Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Rights signed Decision No. 3726/QD- UBND on the declaration of the H5N1 avian influenza in poultry in villages Phuc Lai, Dinh Hoa commune, Yen Dinh District; village 2, Lien Loc and 8, Hoa Loc, Hau Loc district; Republic village of Great Compassion, sub-Dong Hoa district, the town of Nong Cong; rural villages, Van Thang Commune, Nong Cong; village 6 , Russian Thang, Nga Son district.  The decision stated that from now slaughtering activities, transportation, consumption and processing of poultry, livestock veterinary back to normal operation in accordance with the Veterinary Ordinance and the provisions of law current. Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee asked the Director of Agriculture and Rural Development, Department of Animal Health, Chairman of the District: Yen Dinh, Hau Loc, Agriculture and Russia Son monitoring, management closely disease of livestock, especially poultry in the old service; strictly implement the sanitation disinfection, surveillance, detection, reporting, timely handling of cases of disease recurrence . http://www.thanhtra.com.vn/tabid/77/newsid/61276/temidclicked/34/seo/Cong-bo-het-dich-cum-gia-cam-H5N1-tai-4-huyen/Default.aspx

Fresh Ebola outbreak burdens health system

REPORT

from IRIN

PKAMPALA, 15 November 2012 (IRIN) - Uganda's Ministry of Health says a fresh outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever - the second in the country this year - is straining an already over-stretched health system.

"An outbreak of this nature poses a serious financial and human resource challenge. Our resources have been strained since July. We need additional resources to handle the current outbreak. What we have at hand is not enough," Dennis Lwamafa, the acting director-general of health Services at the Ministry of Health, told IRIN.

"With the increasing epidemic outbreaks and their frequencies, we are further constrained... The costs to manage this outbreak cause a distortion... We had not planned for it."

As of 12 November, three people - all members of the same family - were suspected to have died from Ebola in Luwero District, 50km northwest of Kampala. Five people who had close contact with the deceased are also suspected to have contracted the disease; two of these are in an isolation unit at Mulago National Referral Hospital in the capital, Kampala, two in health centres in Luwero and one at Bombo Military Hospital, 30km north of the capital. The Ministry of Health has begun tracing people who may have had contact with the deceased and those infected.

On 15 November, Uganda's Daily Monitor newspaper reported the death of a man who had presented with symptoms characteristic of Ebola at a health centre in the northwestern district of Koboko.

Sudan strain

The outbreak comes less than two months after the country was declared Ebola-free following an outbreak in July that killed 17 people in the western district of Kibaale. The virus in Luwero is the same strain - Ebola Sudan - as the Kibaale outbreak, according to the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI). The Sudan strain was responsible for an outbreak that infected more than 400 and killed some 220 people in Uganda in 2000 and one person in Luwero in May 2011.

The country is also battling an outbreak of Marburg - a viral haemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola - which has killed eight people in the southwest.

Ebola, which causes fever and bleeding from orifices, can cause death within days. There is no cure or vaccine for it, so efforts are concentrated on stopping its spread.

"We need more financial resources to put [in place] optimal response plans to contain this highly infectious disease," Lwamafa said. "We need doctors, nurses to manage isolation units, surveillance teams to list, monitor and track the contacts, laboratory technicians to take the specimens for testing, burial, mobilization teams and psychosocial support teams to handle trauma."

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) in Uganda has dispatched a team of experts to Luwero to help in surveillance, case management, health education, epidemiology, laboratory, infection control and psychosocial services, according to Miriam Nanyunja, WHO's adviser on disease prevention and control.

"The response is being mounted to effectively contain the outbreak," she told IRIN.

Christine Ondoa, Uganda's minister of health, has appealed to the public to remain calm, take precautions to prevent contracting the virus and avoid public gatherings in the affected district.  http://reliefweb.int/report/uganda/fresh-ebola-outbreak-burdens-health-system

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