Uganda: Ebola - Red Cross Sends Emergency Health Team to Kibale

press release

Kibale — The Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) has mobilised an emergency health team of 100 volunteers to support the Ministry of Health and partners to combat the deadly Ebola hemorrhagic fever in Kibaale district.
Already, the Red Cross has dispatched Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to Kibaale to support the case management team and URCS volunteers with their work on ground as they also protect themselves against the fever.
URCS is working closely with Ministry of Health and other agencies like WHO, MSF, UNICEF and AFINET who are part of the national task force on Ebola.
The 100 volunteers are undergoing training to support the dissemination of information about the disease and its transmission to the vulnerable communities. A senior staff and regional manager have moved to Kibaale to support in the training.
URCS Under Secretary General Programs and Projects Dr. Bildard Baguma says the volunteers will start their work by Friday this week.
He adds that the volunteers will also be involved in active case search and follow up of the contacts suspected or confirmed to be of Ebola.
"The volunteers will also be involved in counseling, rehabilitation and distributions of kits to survivors," Dr. Baguma explains. Uganda Red Cross Society has since 2000 been supporting the Ministry of Health in Ebola operations.
URCS will work with the national task force to procure Information, Education and Communication materials for community education and sensitization.
To boost its operations, URCS will receive support from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to provide immediate assistance to about 1.6m indirect beneficiaries through community sensitization and community disease surveillance.  http://allafrica.com/stories/201207310750.html

Uganda braces for #Ebola outbreak

 

VIDEO

The ebola outbreak in Uganda has spread to the capital. 14 people have died, and those suspected of having the virus are being quarantined.
July 31 2012 at 03:12pm

#Ebola: Rwanda, Kenya On High Alert

Following reported outbreak of the deadly Ebola hemorrhagic fever in neighboring Uganda, the Government of Rwanda has put in place stringent measures that will ensure the safety of Rwandans from this deadly virus.

Uganda’s Ministry of Health and WHO confirmed an outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in Kibale district in Western Uganda near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Twenty people have been affected so far and 14 people have died.

Kibale district is approximately 300 Km from the Rwandan border and specifically the districts of Musanze, Nyagatare, Gicumbi and Burera.

“Due to high traffic and population movements, there is risk that Ebola can be imported to Rwanda at any time,” government said in a statement.

Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a highly contagious disease transmitted from person to person and characterised by fever, headache, joint and muscle pain, sore throat, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pains and bleeding from all orifices.

“Though no case has been reported in Rwanda for the last 15 years, government has put in place measures aimed at protecting Rwandans from this deadly disease but is also cautioning Rwandans to remain vigilant and report any suspected cases immediately,” the statement further read.

“Ministry of Health in collaboration with its partners and through the emergency preparedness team is taking actions for preparedness and response to prevent potential health risks that might be caused by the deadly disease.”

Specifically, the Ministry of Health has issued alert warnings to all health centres on how to detect and handle cases should they arise.

The Ministry is also training health care providers especially in districts neighbouring Uganda on case management and preventive measures.

In addition, all the necessary kits and medical supplies needed have been assembled and dispatched to health facilities in the bordering districts.

What is required from the public?

• To immediately seek medical attention at the nearest health facility in case of suspicion of Ebola

• Any person who visited Uganda and had contact with someone presenting signs and symptoms of Ebola should immediately inform the nearest health facility

Current situation

No cases of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever have so far been reported in Rwanda. The Ministry of Health has elaborated plans to effectively respond should the disease occur within our borders.

“We request the public to stay calm and continue business as usual,” added the statement

Kenyan government also put its national on alert yesterday to avoid Ebola by avoiding physical contact as much as they could.   http://www.chimpreports.com/index.php/people/health/5284-ebola-rwanda-kenya-on-high-alert.html

Ministry of health to train and deploy #Ebola scouts

The Director General of Health Services, Dr. Denis Lwamafa has revealed that in an effort to improve Ebola surveillance, the ministry of health will this week recruit and train scouts to monitor and education the public on Ebola.
He says that the Village Health Teams will be incorporated in the fight against Ebola through monitoring for people suffering from illnesses with Ebola signs and symptoms.
Dr. Lwamafa revealed this during a training session of all health workers in Kibaale district at Kagadi hospital.
The move comes at a time when the political leaders in the district were urging government to increase the awareness campaigns to prevent the spread of Ebola.
The director told the media after the training that they have managed to contain the disease because since Saturday there is no more deaths reported both at Kagadi hospital and the country at large.
He says that the whole of yesterday medical teams spent the day searching for Ebola patents in the district and only one was brought to the Isolation centre at Kagadi hospital.   http://www.ugpulse.com/uganda-news/health/ministry-of-health-to-train-and-deploy-ebola-scouts/26510.aspx

Ugandans might be stopped from traveling abroad-Parliament

20120731 9:40:40 AM EST

Following the outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in Kibaale district, Ugandans travelling abroad may face travel ban.

The fear for the travel ban was voiced by parliament this evening while reacting to a statement from the minister of health, Christine Andoa on the situation in Kibaale and the country at large.
MP Richard Todwong expressed the concern that since the outbreak has been reported on BBC and other international broadcasters, the outside world might ban Ugandans from traveling to other countries.
He said that whenever there are problems in Democratic Republic of Congo, there is an outbreak of Ebola fever in Uganda.
However, the minister of health allayed the fears of MPs and said that Ugandans will not be banned from traveling because what the ministry of health has done to locate and quarantine the Ebola contacts is good enough.  http://www.ugpulse.com/uganda-news/health/ugandans-might-be-stopped-from-traveling-abroad-parliament/26513.aspx

Cult Leader Barred From Visiting Kabarole Over Ebola

Kabarole district leaders have halted the visit of Owobusobozi Bisaka, the founder of the Faith of Unity, following the outbreak of Ebola in the country.

#Ebola Death Toll Reaches 16 As Districts Form Taskforce Teams

2012-07-31 16:08:38

The death toll as a result of Ebola outbreak in Kibaale district has clocked 16 people after two more people died on Monday. http://ugandaradionetwork.com/a/story.php?s=44125

Ebola outbreak: Hotlines out

Publish Date: Jul 31, 2012
Hotlines have been created for all people to call, in case they suspect anyone to be infected with the disease.
Ebola surveillance teams can be reached on 0774 451762, 0706 506294, and 0757 174556.

More patients Tuesday were admitted at the isolation ward in Kagadi hospital in Kibaale district, according to reports from health officers.

This means that there are more people increasingly getting infected in the district. Surveillance teams are already combing through the district to ensure that no infected person is left untreated, according to the district health officer Dr. Dan Kyamanywa. http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/633609-ebola-outbreak-hotlines-out.html

19 new #Ebola cases reported at Kagadi Hospital

Publish Date: Jul 31, 2012

By Ismael Kasooha and Luke Kagiri

Ninteen new Ebola casesWere Tuesday morning reported at Kagadi Hospital in Kibaale district.

Mubende district bordering Kibaale has set up an isolation centre center following reports that Ebola patients from Kibaale were flocking the health unit for treatment.

This caused panic as Nurses turned away patients for fear that they could be having the deadly Ebola virus.

Mubende Hospital chief Dr. Edward Nkurunziza told New Vision that the isolation center would handle Ebola cases if confirmed.

Meanwhile seven doctors of Mulago Hospital who treated an Ebola patient from Kibaale district have been placed under quarantine.

This was done to prevent the spread of the deadly disease that has claimed 14 lives. Another 13 health workers, who accompanied the patient who died a few days ago, have also been quarantined, President Yoweri Museveni revealed Monday.

In a statement on the outbreak of Ebola, Museveni cautioned Ugandans to avoid activities that could spread the disease.

Two more patients who are suspected to have contracted the deadly disease have been registered in Kibaale, according to the district health officer, Dr. Dan Kyamanywa.

By Sunday evening, there were five new cases. “We have taken samples from the patients for testing,” Kyamanywa said yesterday.

Fourteen people have so far died of Ebola in the last three weeks. The 13 died in Kibaale and one of them at Mulago Hospital, where she had been transferred.  http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/633603-19-new-ebola-cases-reported-at-kagadi-hospital.html

#Ebola patient who escaped from hospital found, readmitted

Posted Tuesday, July 31 2012 at 01:00

A suspected Ebola patient whose escape from Kagadi Hospital was reported on Saturday has been found and readmitted to the hospital, the World Health Organisation said in a statement released late on Sunday.

Details of the patient were not immediately available but their escape from the health facility had sparked fears among public health officials that they could spread the Ebola virus, which is very contagious.

The WHO noted that the health response to the disease outbreak had improved as more information emerged about the Hemorrhagic fever and how to carefully take care of patients.

“More nurses from [Kagadi] hospital have volunteered to work in the isolation facility following the visit by the Director General’s delegation,” the statement noted. “With this the functionality of the isolation facility and patient care has improved greatly. Further improvement towards attaining acceptable standards will be carried out in the coming days.”..

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Ebola+patient+who+escaped+from+hospital+found++readmitted/-/688334/1467262/-/13ur0iiz/-/index.html

Two suspected Ebola deaths reported in Uganda

Tue, Jul 31st, 2012

KAMPALA (Reuters) – Two more people, including a child, are suspected to have died of the Ebola virus while 11 more have been put in isolation in western Uganda where the deadly haemorrhagic fever was first confirmed last Friday, health workers said on Tuesday.
So far 14 people have died of the disease and Ugandan officials fear a repeat of an outbreak in 2000, the most devastating to date, when 425 people were infected, more than half of whom died.
Dan Kyamanywa, health officer for Kibaale district where the outbreak had started, told Reuters by telephone that villagers had called medical officials on Tuesday to report that two more people had died, including a 5-year old boy.
Kyamanywa said the latest deaths also occurred in Kibaale, about 170 km (100 miles) west of the capital, and near the Democratic Republic of Congo where the virus first emerged in 1976, taking its name from the Ebola River.
“We got calls this morning about these two deaths which occurred in two different villages yesterday (Monday) evening,” he said. “The team that we sent says the initial clinical signs that the patients exhibited are typical of Ebola … also since yesterday, we have admitted 11 more suspected Ebola patients who are now in isolation.”
On Monday Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni advised people to avoid shaking hands, casual sex and do-it-yourself burials to reduce the chance of contracting Ebola virus.
Kiiza Xavier, a farmer in Kibaale’s Buyanja county said news of the Ebola outbreak was spreading panic among the population.
“People here love their drinking for instance, but now they’re too scared to go to bars as they normally do daily,” he said. “Proprietors of lodges are also seeing their incomes shrink because people have been advised to avoid sex.”
There is no treatment for Ebola, which is transmitted by close contact and body fluids such as saliva, vomit, faeces, sweat, semen and blood.
In the capital Kampala where a health worker from Kibaale, Clare Muhumuza, died on Friday, residents were fast abandoning handshakes for fear of contracting the disease.
Some said, however, they found that culturally embarrassing.
“Obviously the thought of catching Ebola scares me to the bone and I would do anything to avoid it,” said Ben Tumwebaze, 28, a motorcycle rider in Kampala.
“But if you meet a good friend especially one you haven’t seen in a long time and refuse to shake his or her hand, it might be misunderstood or create hard feelings between both of you.”
http://in2eastafrica.net/two-suspected-ebola-deaths-reported-in-uganda/

The WHO warns of 36 suspected cases of #Ebola in western Uganda

Geneva, July 31 (EFE). - The World Health Organization (WHO) warned today of the existence of at least 36 suspected Ebola infected in the region of Kibale in western Uganda, where fourteen people have died from the beginning of the outbreak in mid-month.
WHO spokesman, Tarik Jaserevic said at a press conference that so far have been detected 36 "suspected cases" of Ebola, of which four have been confirmed by laboratory tests.

"

There have been four cases confirmed by laboratory testing and unfortunately two of them have died from the disease," said the spokesman, who said that in the region have also conducted clinical trials on other samples with negative results.
Ebola is a hemorrhagic fever that kills a large percentage of infected, acting quickly and easily spread by contact.
Jaserevic explained that he has created a buffer zone in the region of Kibale which is treating patients suspected to have contracted the disease.

The WHO spokesman said the international organization received last July 28 Ugandan government notification of detection of this outbreak of Ebola in the west, while the Ugandan authorities announced yesterday that it has expanded and at least a person has died in the capital, Kampala.
Jaserevic reminded that this is the fourth outbreak of Ebola that Uganda has in the past twelve years, the most serious in 2000 when 170 people died. http://translate.google.com/translat...111130593.html

Be calm, says Museveni as Ebola cases rise to 25

Tuesday, July 31 2012 at 01:00

In Summary

Checking spread. Health officials have issued hotlines that members of the public can contact in case there is a suspected Ebola case. These are: 0774451762, 0706506294 and 0757174555

President Museveni yesterday urged the public to remain calm but take precautions as the cumulative number of people infected with the Ebola hemorrhagic fever reached 25.

Some 14 people have died since the disease broke out about three weeks ago. However, only three of the dead have been confirmed to have died of Ebola, according to the Ministry of Health.

Another seven people are admitted to hospital while seven doctors and 13 medical workers who responded to the outbreak of the disease are being held in quarantine.

In a public statement released yesterday, President Museveni urged the public to desist from physical contact, such as shaking hands, in order to prevent a further spread of the disease.

The President noted in his statement that one of the patients had died at Mulago hospital where they had been brought for treatment, but said health workers were working to contain the outbreak.

President’s note
“The Ministry of Health people are tracing all the people that have had contact with the victims,” Mr Museveni said. “They have for instance put under quarantine all the seven doctors that dealt with one of the people who came to Mulago and died there as well as the thirteen health workers who were accompanying them. They are following up all the cases.”

The statement adds: “The Ministry of Health has already announced the fact that samples taken from sick people and those who died were confirmed at Entebbe as Ebola. I appeal to you to first of all report all cases which appear to be like Ebola.”

The number of Ebola patients in Kibaale District rose from three to seven yesterday and all were being held in an isolation ward at Kagadi Hospital.

Health ministry spokesperson Rukia Nakamatte said virologists at the Uganda Virus Research Institute were analysing blood samples taken from those admitted.

The new cases registered by the Ebola health team are from the sub-counties of Rugashali, Bwamiramira and Muhorro. In order to contain the outbreak, the Health ministry yesterday announced a ban, effective immediately, from referring Ebola patients from Kibaale District to Mulago Hospital in Kampala.

“The disease must be handled locally to contain the spread and we cannot accept this stampede at Mulago because all services will be at standstill,” Dr Dennis Lwamafa, the commissioner for services, said yesterday.

Kibaale District has formed an Ebola task force headed by the district chairperson, Mr George Namyaka, to lead the response to the outbreak.

No panic
The World Health Organisation said yesterday it did not recommend advising against travel to Uganda as a result of the Ebola outbreak.
Nevertheless health officials have issued hotlines that members of the public can use to report suspected cases of Ebola.

According to WHO these are: 0774451762, 0706506294 and 0757174555
A statement from the health ministry yesterday said teams of experts were undertaking disinfection control at the wards and the isolation facility at Kagadi Hospital.

“The hospital has set up burial committees to manage burials of people suspected to have died of Ebola. The committee has been oriented on burial procedures and infection prevention and control. This is one of the control measures to control the spread of the highly contiguous disease.”Mulago Hospital has also been put on standby with an isolation camp in case any cases are reported in Kampala and neighbouring districts.
“Once again the Ministry of Health calls upon the public to stay calm as all possible measures are being undertaken to control the situation.”
Ebola, which manifest itself as a Hemorrhagic fever, is highly infectious and kills quickly. It was reported in 1976 in Congo and is named after the river where it was recognised.

Ebola outbreak: dos and don’ts

• Report and immediately and take any suspected patient to a nearby health unit
• Avoid direct contact with body fluids of a person suspected to be suffering from Ebola by using protective materials like gloves and masks
• Disinfect the bedding and clothing of an infected person
• Persons who have died of Ebola must be handled with strong protective wear and buried immediately, avoid feasting and funerals
  ================
  Avoid eating dead animals especially monkeys
• Avoid public gathering especially in the affected district
• Burial of suspicious community deaths should be done under close
• supervision of district health workers
• Report all suspicious deaths to the health workers
• Avoid feasting at funerals
• Avoid shaking hands, kissing, and blood exchange with untested blood.http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Be+calm++says+Museveni+as+Ebola+cases+rise+to+25/-/688334/1467258/-/item/0/-/3qb1mhz/-/index.html

This farmer's family reported seven suspected Ebola cases following direct contact with wildlife.

WHO assists Uganda following deadly Ebola outbreak

http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/2012/07/who-assists-uganda-following-deadly-ebola-outbreak/

Ebola outbreak: Museveni warns against shaking hands in Uganda

Ebola outbreak: Museveni warns against shaking hands in Uganda

There is tension amongst Kampala residents after it was reported that the deadly Ebola virus affected two people there. A Kampala resident, Abwooli Kakubebe says she will not board taxis (PSV) until the situation is back to normal, in order to avoid coming in close contact with people. At boda boda stages and in taxis, it is the talk. City dwellers are worried that with the congestion in Kampala, if there is an outbreak, it would be fatal. “Leero tufudde” (This time we are finished!), an elderly woman, remarked after hearing the news on one of the FM stations about the outbreak in Kampala.
According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), mid 2011 estimated a population of 1.6 million in Kampala.
This comes in wake of Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni banning all kinds of physical contacts after a victim of Ebola virus was reported in the country’s capital, Kampala, for the very first time. In a state broadcast today, Mr Museveni said the Health Ministry is “tracing all people who have had contact with the victims.” He said that since the outbreak of the deadly Ebola in Midwestern Uganda three weeks ago, 14 people had died...
http://www.newstimeafrica.com/archives/27374

WHO investigates Uganda Ebola outbreak VIDEO

http://www.presstv.com/detail/2012/07/30/253577/who-investigates-uganda-ebola/

Ebola virus outbreak: Interview Gregory Hartl World Health

Listen to audio



Uganda's Ebola virus outbreak: Interview Gregory Hartl World Health Org http://audioboo.fm/boos/903082-uganda-s-ebola-virus-outbreak-interview-gregory-hartl-world-health-org-who-on-rfi_english

Uganda villages under quarantine as #Ebola outbreak kills 14 people

By AGATHA AYEBAZIBWE in KAMPALA
Posted Monday, July 30 2012 at 23:30

In Summary

• President advises against physical contact by avoiding shaking hands and kissing as number of Ebola patients in district increases from three on Sunday to seven

Ugandan authorities on Monday put under quarantine, three villages, and some medical staff at the national referral hospital — Mulago — after an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus at the weekend killed 14 people.

President Yoweri Museveni and health officials on Monday confirmed two cases have since been reported in the capital, with one victim reported dead in Kampala’s Mulago Hospital after the latest outbreak started in Uganda’s western district of Kibaale, 125 miles west of Kampala, and around 50 kilometres from the border with Democratic Republic of Congo.

Seven doctors and 13 health workers at Mulago Hospital are in quarantine after “at least one or two cases” were taken there, with one later dying from the virus.

The villages were identified as Nyanswiga, Kibaari, Kisindiizi, all in the western Uganda district of Kibaale...

..Meanwhile the number of Ebola patients in Kibaale District has increased from three as of Sunday to seven on Monday and they are all currently admitted to an isolation ward at Kagadi hospital..

Another 38-year-old female, a sister to the deceased clinical officer is still admitted at Kagadi Hospital where a ward has been designated for Ebola patients.

On Monday, the Uganda ministry of health officials banned any further referral of Ebola patients from Kibaale district to Mulago hospital in Kampala with immediate effect as a way to contain the spread.

“The disease must be handled locally to contain the spread, and we cannot accept this stampede at Mulago because all services will be at stand still,” said Dr Lwamafa.http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/1467206/-/yav44dz/-/index.html

Officials: Ebola sickens more than 20 in Uganda, 14 dead

July 30, 2012 4:11 PM

Investigators took nearly a month to confirm Ebola's presence in Uganda this year. In Kibaale, a district with 600,000 residents, some villagers started abandoning their homes to escape what they thought was an illness caused by bad luck. One family lost nine members, and a clinical officer and her 4-month-old baby died from Ebola, Byaruhanga said.

D.K. Lwamafa, of Uganda's Ministry of Health, told reporters on Saturday that one Ebola patient from Kibaale had been referred to the national hospital in the capital but had then died in Kibaale

.

The confirmation of Ebola's presence in the area has spread anxiety among sick villagers, who are refusing to go the hospital for fear they don't have Ebola and will contract it there. All suspected Ebola patients have been isolated at one hospital where patients admitted with other illnesses fled after Ebola was announced. Only the hospital's maternity ward still has patients, officials said, highlighting the deadly reputation of Ebola in a country where the authorities do not always respond quickly and effectively to emergencies and disasters

.

Barnabas Tinkasimire, a lawmaker from the area, said that some nurses refused to look after Ebola patients after one clinical officer died and another was taken ill.

"They are saying, `We can't remain here if there is no sufficient allowance,'" Tinkasimire said of medical officers handling Ebola cases. [link to www.cbsnews.com]

MoH: Ebola outbreak is contained HAHAHA LOL

Published on Jul 30, 2012 by ntvuganda
http://www.ntvuganda.co.ug/

The Ministry of Health and the World Health organisation have confirmed that they have managed to contain the latest Ebola outbreak in the country's Western district of Kibaale. The announcement came as President Yoweri Museveni called for vigilance and for people to avoid promiscuity in the wake of the outbreak. The Uganda Red Cross Society has mobilised an emergency health team of 100 volunteers to support the Ministry of Health and partners to combat the deadly Ebola virus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O8FWJgOlcY

PRESS STATEMENT ON THE UPDATE ON EBOLA IN KIBAALE DISTRICT

UPDATE ON EBOLA IN KIBAALE DISTRICT

PRESS STATEMENT ON THE UPDATE ON EBOLA IN KIBAALE DISTRICT 30TH July 2011 MINISTRY OF HEALTH P. O. BOX 7272, KAMPALA - UGANDA PRESS STATEMENT ON THE UPDATE ON EBOLA IN KIBAALE DISTRICT The Ministry of Health declared an outbreak of Ebloa in Kibaale district on Saturday July 28th after receiving confirmatory results from the Uganda Virus Research Institute that the strange disease that had killed 14 people in the district was Ebola Hemorrhagic fever, Sudan strain. The announcement followed investigations after the Ministry received a report from Kibaale district health authorities on 11th July 2012 about the strange disease that was associated with death in Nyanswiga LCI in Nyamarunda Parish of Nyamarunda subcounty, Kibaale district. The report had indicated that the patients presented with the common symptoms of diarrhoea, vomiting and fever. It indicated that by 10th July 2012, despite many of the patients having received treatment from Emesco HCIII, Mugarama HCIII, Kagadi Hospital and St Ambrose, 10 of them had died. It further indicated that initial samples of blood and stool taken from the sick did not yield any positive findings in the laboratories in Kagadi Hospital and Central Public Health Laboratories of the Ministry of Health, Kampala. The report also noted that people were delaying to present themselves to seek for treatment, partly because they believed that the cause of the illness was due to “evil spirits”. This caused civil strife among the community requiring Police intervention to quell the animosity. In response to this report, a team from the Ministry of Health was dispatched to do a quick assessment of the outbreak and give direction for further measures to be taken. The team carried out an eye balling exercise and verbal autopsy on the affected family. Between the 24th and 25th July 2012, detailed laboratory investigations were conducted at the Uganda Virus Research Institute.. http://www.mediacentre.go.ug/details.php?catId=3&item=1777

Uganda: Ebola outbreak - Information Bulletin n° 2

The situation: According to the Ministry of Health of Uganda, the first case of Ebola was reported in Kagadi hospital on July 7, 2012 and since then, there have been 27 confirmed cases in total, the last two new cases within the last 48 hours.

 As of this morning (July 30th, 2012), there are 7 patients currently admitted within the isolation facility of Kagadi Hospital, 5 of which are new admissions, all with epidemiological linkages to previous probable cases/deaths. So far, there has been 14 deaths (9 from the same family where the index case so far seems to have come from).

There are fears that the disease may have spread beyond Kibaale District. A patient who escaped the isolation ward two days ago has been retrieved and re-admitted. Also according to the same ministry, 7 samples have been collected (4 from new cases and 3 from convalescent cases) and have been shipped to the national laboratory at Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe.
 One of the confirmed cases died in Mulago Hospital, prompting follow-up of all the health workers and other people who came into contact with that particular patient – none of them has so far come up with the disease.
edit"so far"


The symptoms presented by people affected by this particular outbreak of Ebola are somewhat different from those of the past (for example, there was no haemorrhage in most cases), which made some people to think initially that the outbreak was cholera, another disease that is also currently quite active in the area.
There is an urgent need for communication/social mobilization capacity to strengthen public information and social mobilization. At the moment, follow-up is still not adequate. There is a serious need for an adequate surveillance mechanism and resources, which could allow for a proper follow-up of all the contact cases for 21 days. The extent of the epidemic is still unknown, therefore the epidemic is not contained. There is a high demand of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and medical supplies – demands that currently are being met; yet additional stock may be required.  http://reliefweb.int/report/uganda/uganda-ebola-outbreak-information-bulletin-n%C2%B0-2?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Uganda warns against handshakes

July 30 2012 at 08:30pm

According to Tumusiime Jamilo, a reporter with Kagadi Kibaale Community Radio (KKCR), panic had gripped the Kagadi hospital in Kibaale, where suspected Ebola cases were being treated.

Some hospital staff had initially fled the establishment but were now returning as the authorities were providing protective gear for them...

Kibaale local government authorities have ordered the closure of local primary and secondary schools and banned public gatherings as a precaution, he added.

Dan Kyamanywa, a health officer in Kibaale district, said up to 80 000 people in the district were at risk of infection.  http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/uganda-warns-against-handshakes-1.1352512

Rwanda-Government Alerts Public on Spread of Ebola Virus in neighbouring country

Kigali, July 30th, 2012: – Following reported outbreak of the deadly Ebola hemorrhagic fever in neighboring Uganda, the Government of Rwanda has put in place stringent measures that will ensure the safety of Rwandans from this deadly virus.

Over the weekend, Uganda’s Ministry of Health and WHO confirmed an outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in Kibale district in Western Uganda near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Twenty people have been affected so far and 14 people have died as of 29th/07/2012.

Kibale district is approximately 300 Km from the Rwandan border and specifically the districts of Musanze, Nyagatare, Gicumbi and Burera. Due to high traffic and population movements, there is risk that Ebola can be imported to Rwanda at any time...
http://www.gov.rw/Government-Alerts-Public-on-Spread-of-Ebola-Virus-in-neighbouring-country?lang=en

Minister of health assures public on Ebola fever

Minister of Health Christine Andoa

 Following the Ebola outbreak in the western district of Kibaale killing 14 people leaving over 11 in hospital, the health minister, Christine Andoa confirms that government has taken necessary measures to contain the disease from spreading further to other areas.

According to Andoa, over 34 medical officers who dealt with the various case both in Kibaale and Mulago are under close supervision with all of them now not allowed to work noting that since the death of the 14 victims, no more deaths have been registered.

The global health representative to Uganda, Dr. Joaquim Saweka confirms that there was no Congolese national among those affected with the disease adding that they are working round the clock to have the situation phased out completely.

Meanwhile, isolation centers have been set up in Kagadi and Mulago hospitals to handle all cases.  http://www.ugpulse.com/uganda-news/health/minister-of-health-assures-public-on-ebola-fever/26500.aspx

34 People Being Monitored for #Ebola Signs

2012-07-30 15:58:10

The disease which broke out in Nyamarunda sub county Kibaale district has so far killed 14 people and another 7 are still fighting for their lives at Kagadi Hospital in Kibaale district.

Read more: http://ugandaradionetwork.com/a/story.php?s=44093#ixzz228FIKSYX

Uganda Ebola outbreak claims at least 14 lives

http://www.reuters.com/video/2012/07/30/uganda-ebola-outbreak-claims-at-least?videoId=236731882&videoChannel=1

Kenya on alert after Ebola reported in Kampala

Posted by CATHERINE KARONGO and JUDIE KABERIA on July 30, 2012

He added that the ministry was still gathering more information on the Uganda outbreak and further decisions will be made as information is gathered/AFP

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 30 – Kenya declared a high Ebola alert on Monday in provinces that border Uganda, after an outbreak of the disease was confirmed in Kampala.

The Head of Disease Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Public Health Willis Akhwale said they had instructed Provincial Directors of Health and District Medical Officers in Western, Nyanza and Rift Valley provinces to immediately report any suspicious cases.

“We will issue the health workers in these areas with personal protective clothing for them to effectively handle any suspicious case,” he told Capital FM News.

He added that the ministry was still gathering more information on the Uganda outbreak and further decisions will be made as information is gathered.

Earlier, the Director of Public Health Dr Shahnaz Sharif told Capital FM News that Kenya would not advise its citizens against travelling to Uganda following the outbreak.

He said Ebola was not airborne and at the moment there was no serious risk. He further said all measures were in place to deal with it in case there is an outbreak in Kenya.

“We are not issuing any advisory for people travelling to Uganda. Everything is under control. If there is anything occurring, we can explore the disease within a short time. We have lab facilities to do so, nothing to worry about… you should relax.”

Reports from Kampala said doctors and health workers involved in handling the known cases had already been quarantined.

Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni on Monday warned against any form of physical contact after victims were reported in the capital Kampala for the first time.

“The Ministry of Health are tracing all the people who have had contact with the victims,” Museveni said in a state broadcast, adding that 14 people had died in total since Ebola broke out in western Uganda three weeks ago.

Two cases have since been reported in the capital, with one victim reported dead in Kampala’s Mulago Hospital, he said, calling on people not to shake hands to avoid the spread of the killer virus.

“Ebola spreads by contact when you contact each other physically… avoid shaking of hands, because that can cause contact ..http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2012/07/kenya-on-alert-after-ebola-reported-in-kampala/

19 dead from #Ebola

Ebola Virus Hits Kampala

on July 30, 2012



Ebola virus outbreak has been reported in Kampala for the first time, with two cases reported and one person confirmed dead.

The victim reportedly died at Mulago Hospital.



This brings the death toll to 19 of which 18 were reported in Kibaale district where the out break first hit last week.

...Seven doctors and 13 health workers at Mulago hospital are in quarantine after “at least one or two cases” were taken there, with one later dying from the virus.

...

An isolation ward has been established Kagadi hospital to avoid spread of the disease.

http://www.ugandapicks.com/2012/07/ebola-virus-hits-kampala-99367.html

Schools close over #Ebola outbreak

Schools close over Ebola outbreak

Publish Date: Jul 30, 2012

• Medical workers in protective gear leave an Ebola isolation camp during the 2007 outbreak

By Vision team
A number of schools in Buyaga County have been closed following the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Kibale district.
The Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Saturday confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Kibaale District, over 200km west of Kampala.

The incurable disease, caused by a virus, has killed at least 13 people in Nyanswiga Village in Nyamarunda sub-county since it broke out three weeks ago. The affected families initially thought it was either witchcraft or evil spirits. As a result they took the first patients to Owobusubozi Bisaka’s shrine for prayers. Bisaka is the leader of a religious sect called Faith of Unity. Two patients died in that shrine.

The disease presents with high fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and blood oozing from the mouth and nose at the time of death.

“Laboratory investigations carried out at the Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe have confirmed that the strange disease which has been reported for some time in Kibaale is indeed an Ebola variety,” Dr. Denis Lwamafa, acting director general of health services, told the press at the ministry headquarters.
Following confirmation of Ebola, health workers in Kibaale have taken over management of burials.
At Kagadi Hospital, an isolation
ward was set up, where relatives are not allowed to attend to their patients for fear that they might contract the disease.
Dr. Joachim Saweka, the WHO country representative, said WHO Geneva would dispatch 2,000 sets of protective gear and body bags to prevent spread of the disease. Additional assistance is expected from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
There are five types of Ebola namely Ebola Zaire, Ebola Sudan, Ebola Côte d’Ivoire, Ebola Bundibugyo and Ebola Reston. The type confirmed in Kibaale is Ebola Sudan, which is less deadly than Ebola Zaire. When Ebola Sudan broke out in Gulu in 2,000, about four out of every 10 patients were able to recover. On the contrary, Ebola Zaire inevitably kills most of the people who get it.
Meanwhile, fear gripped Mulago Hospital workers on Friday after it emerged that one of the patients who died there last week had come from Kibaale.
The patient, a 40-year-old woman named Clare Muhumuza, was received at Mulago on the evening of Friday June 20 and died within a few hours. She was the clinical officer treating the patients at Kagadi Hospital.
“She came to Mulago very sick and by morning she was dead. She suffered multiple organ failure,” said a senior doctor in Mulago.

Doctors and nurses in Mulago yesterday expressed fears that they had handled the patient without protection in ignorance.
Those who handled the patient are likely to be quarantined and observed closely for 21 days.
Currently Suzan Nabulya, a sister to the late Muhumuza, who was tending to her before she died, has been admitted at Kagadi Hospital while Muhumuza’s four month old baby, Milca Ninsima, has died.

Understanding Ebola
Cause: Ebola is caused by a virus belonging to a family called filovirus. There are five distinct types of the virus namely Ebola Zaire, Ebola Sudan, Ebola Côte d’Ivoire, Ebola Bundibugyo and Ebola Reston.
Transmission: The disease is transmitted through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs, fluids or bodies of infected persons. Family members and health workers handling the patients can become infected easily if they do not wear protective facilities such as gloves and masks. Ebola is not air borne.
Symptoms: The average incubation period is 21 days. The disease is characterised by sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is often followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding.
Treatment: No specific treatment or vaccine is yet available for Ebola haemorrhagic fever. There is neither a cure nor a vaccine for Ebola. The patients are given symptomatic treatment to reduce pain and prevent dehydration. Several potential vaccines and drugs are being tested but it could take years before any is available.
How to protect yourself
Isolate suspected cases from other patients
Wear gloves, goggles and masks while handling patients
Patients’ clothing should be disinfected with household bleach such as JIK
Areas contaminated with patient’s fluids should be disinfected with household bleach such as JIK
Avoid touching the bodies of those who have died of Ebola
People who have died from Ebola should be promptly and safely buried...http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/633564-schools-close-over-ebola-outbreak.html

Ebola Reported In Kampala As Medic Dies In Mulago

By Nicholas Mwesigwa:

A clinical officer who attended to suspected Ebola patients at Kagadi Hospital has died in Mulago Hospital after being referred there.

Sources identified the clinical officer as Clare Muhumuza who died on the evening of Friday within a few hours of being admitted. Muhumuza’s four month old baby, Milca Ninsima, is also reported to have died.

“The clinical officer died in Mulago. The disease is contagious like you know so we urge people to be cautious and if one develops any signs please rush to the hospital,” Ondoa said on phone. Doctors at Mulago however couldn’t comment when contacted citing sensitivity of the matter.

The shocking revelation was made by Minster of Health Christine Ondoa while addressing scribes Ebola outbreak last week in Kibaale District.

The Minister said that Mulago Hospital is in the process of reactivating its isolation camp to cater for any reported cases in Kampala and neighbouring districts.

However she said no case of Ebola has been registered in Kampala city and its suburbs.

The Ministry of Health declared an outbreak of Ebloa in Kibaale on Saturday after receiving confirmatory results from the Uganda Virus Research Institute that 14 people in the district had succumbed to Ebola Hemorrhagic fever, Sudan strain.

The announcement came after the Ministry received a report from Kibaale district health authorities on July 11, 2012 of the strange disease in Nyanswiga LCI in Nyamarunda Parish of Nyamarunda subcounty, Kibaale district.

The report had indicated that the patients presented with the common symptoms of diarrhoea, vomiting and fever. It indicated that by July 10, 2012, despite many of the patients having received treatment from Emesco HCIII, Mugarama HCIII, Kagadi Hospital and St Ambrose, 10 of them had died.

It further indicated that initial samples of blood and stool taken from the sick did not yield any positive findings in the laboratories in Kagadi.

The report also noted that people were delaying to present themselves to seek treatment, partly because they believed that the cause of the illness was due to “evil spirits”.

This caused civil strife among the community requiring Police intervention to quell the animosity.

In response to this report, a team from the Ministry of Health was dispatched to do a quick assessment of the outbreak and give direction for further measures to be taken.

Between July 24 and 25, 2012, detailed laboratory investigations were conducted at the Uganda Virus Research Institute and confirmed that the “Strange Disease” was Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Sudan strain. Three samples taken from the dead confirmed Ebola to be present in their biological specimen.

Govt Bans Physical Contact

Meanwhile government has banned physical contact following reports a medic had died of Ebola in Kampala.

“The Ministry of Health are tracing all the people who have had contact with the victims,” Yoweri Museveni said in a state broadcast this afternoon.

“Ebola spreads by contact when you contact each other physically… avoid shaking of hands that can cause contact through sweat, which can cause problems,” Museveni said.

Elsewhere, a number of schools in Buyaga County have been closed following the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.http://redpepper.co.ug/welcome/?p=41626

Uganda warns on contact as deadly# Ebola reported in capital

Uganda warns on contact as deadly Ebola reported in capital



...The fatal case in Kampala was a health worker who "had attended to the dead at Kagadi hospital" in Kibale, Health Minister Christine Ondoa told reporters.

She is believed to have travelled independently to Kampala -- possibly on public transport -- after her three-month old baby died, Ondoa added.

Results of tests were still awaited, but it is "presumed" she died of Ebola, said Dennis Lwamafa, Uganda's commissioner for disease control.

"I appeal to you to first of all report all cases which appear to be like Ebola, and these are high fever, vomiting, sometimes diarrhoea, and with bleeding," Museveni added.

"When you handle this case well you can eliminate Ebola quickly."

According to experts, despite being extremely virulent the disease is containable because it kills its victims faster than it can spread to new ones.

It has a fatality ratio of between 23 and 90 percent, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Seven people suspected of having the virus have been isolated in Kigadi hospital, Ondoa said.

The nearest death to the capital previously had been in May 2011 in Bombo, 35 kilometres (21 miles) from Kampala, a city of some 1.5 million people.

The rare haemorrhagic disease, named after a small river in DR Congo, killed 37 people in western Uganda in 2007 and at least 170 in the north of the country in 2000.

However, Museveni said that the virus had not been immediately identified this time, resulting in a delay.

"The bleeding which normally accompanies Ebola did not take place initially among these patients," he said, adding that health workers at first did not therefore realise what the problem was.

"Because of that delay the sickness spread."

Health officials said that the source of the outbreak had yet to be confirmed but that the villages affected were located close to forests famous for several species of primates.

"The site where most of the cases occurred are close to Kibale forest where there are a lot of monkeys and birdlife," said WHO representative for Uganda, Joaquim Saweka, adding that "so far the WHO does not recommend any restriction of movement." http://reliefweb.int/report/uganda/uganda-warns-contact-deadly-ebola-reported-capital

Uganda warns on contact as #Ebola reaches capital, Kampala

Health officials at Kagadi Hospital wearing Ebola protective gears.

Monday, July 30 2012 at 14:13

President Museveni on Monday banned all physical contact after a victim of a deadly outbreak of the Ebola virus was reported in the capital Kampala for the first time..

...Two cases have since been reported in the capital, with one victim reported dead in Kampala's Mulago Hospital, he said, calling on people not to shake hands to avoid the spread of the killer virus.

"Ebola spreads by contact when you contact each other physically... avoid shaking of hands that can cause contact through sweat, which can cause problems," Museveni said.

..Seven doctors and 13 health workers at Mulago hospital are in quarantine after "at least one or two cases" were taken there, with one later dying from the virus... .

A clinical officer at Kagadi hospital Clare Muhumuza and her four month old baby also succumbed to the virus.

Muhumuza who treated most of the patients died on Tuesday at Mulago hospital, while her child died on Saturday...

Dr Dan Kyamanywa, the Kibaale district Health officer, says two people are admitted with the disease at the newly established Kagadi hospital Ebola isolation ward. Although refusing to name the victims, the health officer explains that one is a relative of the deceased clinical officer while the other is a distance relative of Yostus Isoke’s family.The patient has been close to the family during the illness thus contracting the disease..

News of the Ebola outbreak has caused panic at Kagadi hospital as some patients and their attendants first fled the wards on Saturday for fear of catching the disease. By Sunday morning the always full outpatient department at the hospital was almost empty

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Uganda+bans+physical+contact+as+Ebola+reaches+capital/-/688334/1466868/-/item/1/-/14ehdnqz/-/index.html

Uganda's Yoweri Museveni warns of Ebola threat

30 July 2012 Last updated at 11:40 ET

Up to 90% of those who contract Ebola die from the virus

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has urged people to avoid physical contact, after the deadly Ebola virus claimed one life in the capital, Kampala.

Fourteen people have now died since the outbreak began in western Uganda three weeks ago, he said in a broadcast.

There have been no confirmed cases of infection as yet in Kampala.

Ebola, one of the most virulent diseases in the world, is spread by close personal contact and can kill up to 90% of those who become infected.

Mr Museveni said health officials were trying to trace everyone who had had contact with victims so that they could be quarantined.

People should avoid shaking hands, kissing or having sex to prevent the disease from spreading, he added.

Mr Museveni said relatives and friends should not bury anyone who is suspected to have died of Ebola.

"Instead call health workers because they know how to do it," he said.
Shocked
Mr Museveni said seven doctors and 13 health workers at Mulago hospital - the main referral hospital in Kampala - were in quarantine after "at least one or two cases" were taken there from Kibaale district, about 170km (100 miles) west of Kampala.

One victim - a health worker who had been transferred to the capital - later died.

"I wish you good luck, and may God rest the souls of those who died in eternal peace," Mr Museveni said as he ended his address to the nation.

The BBC's Ignatius Bahizi in Kampala says that some people have not yet heard about the latest outbreak of Ebola and are shocked when they find out.

At a bus station in the city centre, our correspondent saw officials warning passengers about the virus and telling them to avoid physical contact.

The first victim of the latest outbreak was a pregnant woman.

It then spread at a funeral, Mr Museveni said...
.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19048998

Uganda leader warns of Ebola 'contact' threat

 

Last updated: 2 hours ago

President appeals for citizens to limit physical contact, as another virus-related death is reported in capital Kampala.

---

The Ugandan president has called on people to limit physical contact with each other, after a victim of a deadly outbreak of the Ebola virus was reported in Kampala, the country's capital, for the first time.
"The Ministry of Health are tracing all the people who have had contact with the victims," Yoweri Museveni said in a state broadcast on Monday, adding that 14 people had died in total since Ebola broke out in western Uganda three weeks ago.
Two cases have been reported in the capital since the outbreak began, he said, and one victim is reported to have died in Kampala's Mulago Hospital.
He called on people not to shake hands, to avoid the spread of the killer virus.
"Ebola spreads by contact when you contact each other physically... avoid shaking of hands that can cause contact through sweat, which can cause problems," Museveni said.
"Do not take on burying somebody who has died from symptoms that look like Ebola. Instead, call health workers because they know how to do it...avoid promiscuity because this sickness can also [be transmitted] through sex," he added.
Seven doctors and 13 health workers at Mulago hospital are in quarantine after "at least one or two cases" were taken there, with one later dying from the virus.
Additional cases
The latest outbreak of the disease started in the country's western district of Kibaale, around 200km west of Kampala. The district is located about 50km from the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Stephen Bayaruhanga, health secretary of Kibaale, said on Monday that six more patients suspected to have contracted Ebola had been admitted to hospital.
He said that the cases had at first been concentrated in a single village, but are now been reported in multiple villages.

Rukia Nakamatte, the spokesperson of the health ministry, told Al Jazeera a facility had been set up to isolate people in affected areas.

“We have set up an isolation facility at one of the hospital in the affected areas ... Currently we're having seven patients in the facility. They're receiving treatment and responding positively to the treatment being given," she said.
"We're also working with [the US] Centre for Disease Control and the WHO [World Health Organisation]. We have dispatched a team to the affected area to continue monitoring people who got into contact with the sick and the dead."
She said samples from the patients would be delivered to the Uganda Virus Research Institute for further investigation. "Massive sensitisation programmes on radio stations advising people on what they should do" had been launched, she said.

'Evil spirits' blamed
Officials said many sick people with suspected Ebola were unwilling to be taken to the hospital fearing that they will contract the disease while there, if they do not already have it.
According to a health ministry statement released on Monday, some people also refused to seek treatment "because they believed that the cause of the illness was due to 'evil spirits'".
If the six new cases are confirmed as Ebola, it would bring to 26 the number of Ugandans infected with the virus this month. A national task force has been set up to control the spread of the disease, and the Ugandan health ministry is co-ordinating with the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Centre for Disease Control and other international partners.
The health ministry has urged people to report any suspected cases of Ebola to the nearest health centre, to avoid direct contact with those suspected to be suffering from it and to avoid public gatherings in affected districts...
http://m.aljazeera.com/story/201273010541595799

Uganda Red Cross responding to Ebola outbreak in Western Uganda

Nairobi/Geneva - 29 July 2012 -
////...The Uganda Red Cross is part of the National Emergency Taskforce that has been set up by the Ministry of Health to stop the disease from spreading more widely. The Red Cross has mobilized volunteers and staff who are ready to support with case tracking and community awareness. 'This outbreak is occurring in the same area where the Red Cross is already responding to the growing crisis caused by the influx of Congolese refugees fleeing violence in their country’ said Charlie Musoka, Regional Operations Coordinator in Nairobi for the International Federation of the Red Cross who is preparing to travel to the affected region.
.....
The government of Uganda is coordinating needs assessments and response efforts aimed at containing the outbreak. A team composed of a medical doctor and a Disaster Management specialist from the International Federation of Red Cross is being dispatched from Nairobi to immediately support Uganda Red Cross efforts.
For further information, please contact:

• Catherine Ntabadde , Uganda Red Cross Head of Communication, Kampala: + 256 772629567
• Nancy Okwengu, IFRC Senior Regional Communication Officer, Nairobi: +254 733 632 946
• Jessica Sallabank, IFRC Senior Media Relations Officer, Geneva: +41 799481148  http://reliefweb.int/report/uganda/uganda-red-cross-responding-ebola-outbreak-western-uganda

Monday 30 July 2012
July 30, 2012 (JUBA) - The Republic of South Sudan remains alert after a confirmed Ebola outbreak in neighbouring Uganda reportedly killed 13 people, with at least 20 cases reported by the country’s health officials.

An outbreak of the deadly disease, according to local media reports, were confirmed in the Western Ugandan district of Kibaale, located about 200km from the country’s capital, Kampala. The district reportedly has a total population of about 646,700 people.
An official from South Sudan health ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Sudan Tribune on Monday that the new nation, being a neighbour to Uganda, will “not take chances” at all on the disease.

“Ebola, as you know is a deadly disease and the rate at which it spreads from one person to another is very rapid. We need to take precaution as a country especially with the massive influx of Ugandans coming into South Sudan,” the official warned... http://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-alert-after-Ebola,43398

#Ebola Death Toll Rises to 18 in Kibaale District

Ebola Death Toll Rises in Kibaale District

Posted by Uganda News Picks on July 30, 2012



Kibaale district was last week hit by a strange disease which the health experts from World Health Organization (WHO) have confirmed to be Ebola.

The disease has spread to most areas in the district and reports indicate that it has so far killed 18 people out of the 20 admitted at Kagadi hospital.

More patients are being admitted each day and among them include a health worker identified as Margret Asaba who was working at Muhorro Health Centre III.

Most of the patients admitted have signs which include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache, rash, red eyes and bleeding.   http://www.ugandapicks.com/2012/07/ebola-death-toll-rises-in-kibaale-district-49991.html

Ugandan officials face #Ebola outbreak

updated 3:48 PM EDT, Sun July 29, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Patients did not show some typical symptoms, the health minister says
• The lethal Ebola virus left at least 14 people dead in western Uganda this month
• The cases have emerged in Kibaale, a district in midwestern Uganda
• The Ebola virus is considered a highly infectious disease spread through direct contact

(CNN) -- Ugandan authorities did not initially detect an Ebola outbreak because patients weren't showing typical symptoms of the lethal virus, the nation's health minister told CNN Sunday.

Patients had fevers and were vomiting, but did not show other typical symptoms like hemorrhaging, Health Minister Dr. Christine Ondoa said.

....

Officials are trying to determine the extent of the outbreak, CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said Sunday.

About five people from the Atlanta-based centers were expected to join a group of CDC staffers who are permanently based in Uganda, Skinner said.

"These outbreaks have a tendency to sort of stamp themselves out, if you will, if we can get in and sort of stop the chain of transmission," he said.

Ondoa described the Ebola-Sudan strain detected as "mild" compared to other types of Ebola, noting that victims' lives can be saved with intervention....

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/29/world/africa/uganda-ebola-virus/index.html

Ebola in Uganda (WHO, July 29 2012,

hat tip  Giuseppe Michieli

  [Source: World Health Organization, full page: (LINK). Edited.]

Ebola in Uganda
29 July 2012
The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Uganda has notified WHO of an outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Kibaale district in the western part of the country.
A total of 20 cases, including 14 deaths have been reported since the beginning of July 2012.
The index case was identified in a family from Nyanswiga village, Nyamarunda sub-county of Kibaale district, where nine of the deaths were recorded.
The deceased include a clinical officer who attended to a patient, and her four month-old child. Nine of the 14 deaths have occurred in a single household.
Laboratory confirmation was done by the Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe.
Currently, two patients are hospitalized and are in stable condition.
The first is a 38 year-old female who attended to her sister, the clinical officer who died. She was admitted to the hospital on 26 July 2012.
The second is a 30 year-old female who participated in conducting the burial of the index case. She was admitted to the hospital on 23 July 2012.
Both cases were admitted to hospital with fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Neither of the cases has so far shown bleeding, a symptom that often appears in viral haemorrhagic fever patients.
The MoH is working with stakeholders and partners to control the outbreak.
Response plans at the national and district levels are being finalised.
A national task force coordinated by the MoH has been re-activated at the MOH headquarters and holds daily meetings. In Kibaale a district task force has been formed to better coordinate field response. The neighbouring districts have been put on high alert about the outbreak and to step up surveillance.
A team of experts from MoH, WHO and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is in Kibaale to support the response operations. All possible contacts that were exposed to the suspected and confirmed cases since 6 July 2012 are being identified for active follow up. The necessary supplies and logistics required for supportive management of patients are being mobilized.
Kibaale hospital has established a temporary isolation ward for suspected, probable and confirmed cases. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Holland, has mobilized necessary requirements for setting up isolation centre at the hospital. The MoH and Mulago Hospital have mobilized some staff to manage the isolation centre but more are urgently needed.
The MoH has advised the public to take measures to avert the spread of the disease and to report any suspected patient to the nearest health unit.
WHO does not recommend that any travel or trade restrictions are applied to Uganda.

Anxiety as #Ebola returns

       

Sunday, 29 July 2012 20:41

Written by SADAB KITATTA KAAYA

 

 

The death toll stands at 14 so far PHOTO: CC BY 2.0

Family of 12 wiped out; death toll at 14 in Kibaale district

Medical authorities in the western district of Kibaale were today investigating more suspected cases of Ebola, as haemorrhagic fever returned, causing anxiety around the country.

 Unofficial sources at Kagadi hospital, the main health facility in Kibaale, said more suspected cases were being investigated, but officials would not comment by press time.
By Saturday six people had been admitted with the disease.

 Ebola manifests as a haemorrhagic fever, is highly infectious and kills quickly. Signs and symptoms of the disease include fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, headache, measles-like rash, red eyes, and – sometimes – with bleeding from body openings. People in the district, in Bunyoro sub-region, have been troubled by the mysterious illness, until last Saturday when health authorities confirmed it was Ebola haemorrhagic fever.

By press time, 14 people were known to have died from the fever, including an entire family of 12, in Nyanswiga village, Nyamarunda sub-county. In a statement, Dr Denis Lwamafa, Commissioner National Disease Control in the ministry of Health, said the fever had been confirmed after tests at the Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe.

Lwamafa said the first case was reported on July 6. The dead include a clinical officer and her four-month-old baby, who passed away at Mulago hospital. Yesterday the permanent secretary in the ministry of Health, Dr Asuman Lukwago, sought to assure the country that authorities were doing everything to keep the situation under control.

Speaking on the Kampala-based Radio One, Lukwago said with mass movement of people, as has happened with Congolese refugees who have fled to Uganda because of fighting in their country, diseases can break out. He, however, said authorities were monitoring the situation in western Uganda, while people who recently visited Kibaale would be assisted once they reported to medical authorities.

Twelve of the dead belonged to the family of Yostus Isoke of Nyanswiga village, Nyamarunda sub-county. They include Isoke himself; his five children – Byaruhanga Isoke, Fred Isoke, Roggers Byaruhanga, Doreen Nantongo and an unidentified son. Also among the dead is Lovinsa Kabwimukya, 42, a sub county councilor for people with disabilities in Nyamarunda sub-county council.

The family at first complained of being bewitched and at one stage resorted to visiting witch-doctors. One of the victims is reported to have died in a shrine. Because of the deaths, many people have abandoned the bereaved families for fear of losing lives. Dr Joseph Wamala, a senior epidemiologist in the ministry of health, identified the type of Ebola reported in Kibaale district as Sudan Ebola, which is less deadily than Ebola Zaire.

Other types of Ebola are Ebola Zaire, Ebola Cote d’Ivore, Ebola Bundibugyo and Ebola Reston Ebola can be spread through direct physical contact with body fluids like saliva, blood, stool, vomit, urine and sweat from an infected person and soiled linen used by a patient. One can get it from contact with the body of a person who has died of the disease.
This is the third time a major Ebola outbreak is reported in Uganda in 12 years. In 2000, Ebola killed 224 people, including a prominent physician fighting it, Dr Matthew Lukwiya. In 2007, Ebola struck again, in Bundibugyo district; this time it claimed at least 38 people; they included Dr Jonah Kule and two other medical workers.

Precautionary measures

Dr Lwamafa urged the public to take precautionary measures to avert the spread of the disease. “We have set up a national emergency taskforce to contain the disease from spreading far and wide” Dr Lwamafa said.
He warns against unnecessary contact with suspected people especially during communal funerals and parties. As part of the precautionary measures, he said the ministry of Health has started active and sustained tracing and listing of people that may have been exposed to suspected and confirmed cases since July 6, 2012.

Precautionary measures to contain Ebola
• Report and immediately take any suspected patient to a nearby health unit
• Avoid direct contact with body fluids of a person suffering from Ebola by using protective materials like gloves and masks
• Disinfect the bedding and clothing of an infected person
• Persons who have died of Ebola must be handled with strong protective wear and buried immediately, avoid feasting and funerals
• Avoid eating dead animals especially monkeys
• Avoid public gathering especially in the affected district
• Burial of suspicious community deaths should be done under close supervision of district health workers
• Report all suspicious deaths to the health workers   http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=20104:anxiety-as-ebola-returns&catid=34:news&Itemid=114

Deadly #Ebola wipes out family of 12 in Kibaale

 

By Sharon Tibenda
30^th July 2012:

An outbreak of the Ebola virus has killed 14 people in western Uganda this month, health ministry officials said, ending weeks of speculation about an unknown illness that had many people fleeing their homes.

Ugandan officials and a World Health Organisation representative told a news conference in Kampala on Saturday last week that there was “an outbreak of Ebola” in Uganda.

“Laboratory investigations done at the Uganda Virus Research Institute have confirmed that the strange disease reported in Kibaale district is indeed Ebola hemorrhagic fever,” the Ugandan government and WHO said in joint statement.

Officials urged Ugandans to be calm, saying a national emergency taskforce has been set up to contain the disease. In recent weeks, residents of Kibaale had been troubled by what seemed like a mysterious illness. Health officials spent weeks conducting laboratory tests that were at first inconclusive.

Joaquim Saweka, WHO’s representative in Uganda, said the origin of the outbreak had not yet been confirmed. “…A team of experts from the government, WHO and CDC (US Centre for Disease Control) are in the field and following up on all suspected cases and those who got into contact with patients,” he said.

Officials told reporters in Kampala that of the 14 people who have died so far, twelve were from the same family. A total of twenty people have now been confirmed to have Ebola, which causes haemorrhagic fever and internal bleeding... http://www.ugandacorrespondent.com/articles/2012/07/deadly-ebola-wipes-out-family-of-12-kibaale/

Other patients run away from hospital for fear of #Ebola

..Patients suffering from other ailments seeking treatment from health centres in Kibaale district have run away for fear of contracting Ebola fever from suspected Ebola patients.

Kibaale district is under attack from a strange disease which government has confirmed as Ebola and has killed close to 20 people, majority of whom are from Nyanswiga village in Nyamarunda Sub County.

The victims suffer from diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach ache and at the time of their death, blood ooze from the nose and mouth...
http://www.ugpulse.com/uganda-news/health/other-patients-run-away-from-hospital-for-fear-of-ebola/26491.aspx

#Ebola- 2 Different hospitals may be involved

Ebola Outbreak Kills 13 In Kibaale



..The clinical officer at Kagadi Hospital, Claire Muhumuza also died of the same symptoms after attending to some of the deceased

The health ministry says emergency measures are in place to deal with the outbreak, which began in late June but has only just been confirmed as Ebola.

Officials say most are linked to one family, who may have contracted the virus while attending a funeral.

Another suspected infection, at Kampala’s Mulago hospital, is also being investigated by doctors, says the BBC’s Catherine Byaruhanga in the capital...

http://redpepper.co.ug/welcome/?p=41588

13 die out of a deadly disease in Uganda -video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhg7FgpxFbE