A/H1N1 flu breaks out in school in western Uganda, suspected to have infected at least 263

[Pathfinder]

A/H1N1 flu breaks out in school in western Uganda, infecting eight

2009-09-20 21:22:15

KAMPALA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Eight students have been confirmed to contract A/H1N1 flu as the epidemic broke out in a school in western Uganda, bringing the total cases of the epidemic to 24 in the country, an official confirmed here on Sunday.

Sam Okware, chairman of national A/H1N1 flu task force, told Xinhua by phone that eight out of 10 samples from Kitebi Seminary, a secondary school in Bushenyi district, about 350 km from Kampala, were tested positive for the virus.

The Ugandan Health Ministry has sent a team to the school opened for the new term last week, where 180 students had shown symptoms of fever, cough, chest pain, sneezing and running nose, said a statement issued here by the ministry on Sunday.

Okware said the students have been isolated and put on treatment at the school while those they were in contact with at school are also being monitored.

Uganda confirmed its first case of the A/H1N1 flu on July 2, which was a Briton on a visit here.

A/H1N1 flu is highly infectious and is transmitted through the air as a result of sneezing, coughing or touching contaminated materials or surfaces.

The symptoms of the disease include sudden on-set of fever, sore throat, cough and flu. They occur within three to seven days after contact with an infected person.

Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Margaret Chan, warned during her recent visit here last month that more A/H1N1 flu cases could occur on the continent in the near future than currently reported.

At least 3,205 people worldwide have been killed by the A/H1N1 flu and over 277,607 have been infected since the new flu virus was identified in April, according to a WHO update last week.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/20/content_12085525.htm

[Shiloh]

Re: A/H1N1 flu breaks out in school in western Uganda, infecting eight

Source: http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publ...lu_91714.shtml

September 22, 2009
School closed off over swine flu

Evelyn Lirri & Paul Aruho
Kampala/ Bushenyi

A laboratory and treatment centre has been set up at Kitabi Seminary in Bushenyi District to test possible new cases of the influenza A H1NI flu that has hit the school.

The school was yesterday closed to the public as health officials set up an isolation centre to treat the students who had tested positive and deal with the other symptoms, Bushenyi Education Officer Norman Lukumu told Daily Monitor yesterday.

At least eight students have tested positive for the influenza A H1N1 flu, commonly known as swine flu, with another 180 isolated after showing symptoms of the flu. But parents who turned up to check on their children were yesterday turned away as health officials treated the isolated students.

The government yesterday also announced efforts would now focus on restraining the outbreak of the virus from the border points to dealing with it from within the country. ?The problem is that we were at Entebbe trying to keep out the disease but now that it has established itself in the country,? Health Minister Stephen Mallinga told Daily Monitor yesterday.

?There is no need for us to have a team at the border points trying to keep it out. We must concentrate our efforts on following up the cases within the country and to try and prevent the spread of the disease within the country.?

Kitabi Seminary authorities said yesterday that no new cases had been detected by health officials, who have set up an isolation centre and a laboratory at the school.

Rev. Fr. Dido Nsekanimanya, the Kitabi Seminary Rector, said the infected students were quickly recovering. ?Actually when you see the students, you wouldn?t know that they have tested positive for the flu. They are just going normally and taking their drugs,? Fr Nsekanimanya told Daily Monitor by telephone. ?None of the students is in serious condition. We have plenty of drugs that have been brought here and anyone who exhibits signs of rare flu has been taken for the tests.?

Fr. Nsekanimanya believes the infected students might have contracted the flu while they were still on holiday. Students reported back to school on September 7. ?I first noticed the problem on September 12 when so many people were catching flu which did not look normal and I immediately alerted the health officials who came and did tests on the students. That?s how we got these cases that turned out to be positive,? he said.
Fr. Nsekanimanya also said while the school is restricted to the public, it has not closed down.

He said all the students who showed signs of the virus have been quarantined and are undergoing treatment, while the rest of the students continue with their studies.

Samples have also been taken randomly from other students, even though they have not showed signs of the flu, the priest said. Kitabi Seminary which is about 10 Kilometres out of Bushenyi town, has a population of 500 students.The H1N1 virus, which is passed from human to human, is the type A influenza strain made up of a genetic combination of the swine, avian, and human influenza viruses.

Dr Mallinga told Daily Monitor yesterday that the ministry has already dispatched medical officials to the western region to contain further outbreak.?So far in Uganda, the cases of swine flu that we have are mild and we don?t expect this particular case (Kitabi Seminary) to be severe,? Dr Mallinga said by telephone.

[alert]

Re: A/H1N1 flu breaks out in school in western Uganda, infecting eight

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/opinions/Act_fast_on_Bushenyi_Swine_flu_outbreak_91691.shtml

Act fast on Bushenyi Swine flu outbreak
Editorial

It has now been confirmed that eight students of Kitabi Seminary in Bushenyi District over the weekend tested positive for the influenza A H1N1 flu, commonly known as swine flu.

Another 180 students have shown symptoms of the deadly virus. The school was closed on Saturday. This is the highest single batch of cases registered since Uganda confirmed its first case of the flu at Entebbe Airport on June 26.

The Ministry of Health subsequently formed a Swine Flu Taskforce to deal with the logistical challenges arising from the growing number of cases. Additionally, a special desk to screen travellers coming to Uganda was set up to prevent the entrance of the swine flu virus from abroad.

However, the Bushenyi outbreak comes only a week after this newspaper reported that workers on the screening desk at the airport had downed their tools over alleged non-payment of their remuneration for three months.

The flu, which is a highly contagious disease said to spread rapidly through coughing, sneezing, or touching contaminated surfaces and then touching the nose or mouth, could therefore have found its way into Uganda because of that lapse. Last month, WHO warned of a big rise in swine flu cases during the remainder of 2009 and into 2010.

So far, the WHO has said more than 330 people have died from the swine flu virus, and more than 77,000 people have been diagnosed worldwide. According to WHO, the accelerated spread of swine flu posed the greatest threat in developing countries, placing under-equipped and under-funded health systems under severe strain.

We have to wonder if the government has been taking these warnings seriously. What does the so-called task force have to show as its achievements over the last three months? While other governments are working 24 hours a day to protect their citizens, it is disheartening to note that our government and the Ministry of Health in particular are not as keen.

There should be a thorough investigation to ascertain who sparked the Bushenyi outbreak and trace the source backwards. Most importantly, the Ministry of Health must ensure that the virus does not spread to neighbouring towns. Also, there is also an urgent need to step up the public education and information campaign, particularly in rural areas

[alert]

Re: A/H1N1 flu breaks out in school in western Uganda, infecting eight

Amazing to see such a swift response to H1N1 in Bushenyi, an area that has dealt with Ebola in 2007-08 and a bizarre outbreak in late January 2009 that was blamed on anthrax (despite likely person-to-person spread) that ranks on my list of top five bizarre undiagnosed outbreaks (that apparently FT missed).

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/School_closed_off_over_swine_flu_91714.shtml

School closed off over swine flu
Evelyn Lirri & Paul Aruho

Kampala/ Bushenyi

A laboratory and treatment centre has been set up at Kitabi Seminary in Bushenyi District to test possible new cases of the influenza A H1NI flu that has hit the school.

The school was yesterday closed to the public as health officials set up an isolation centre to treat the students who had tested positive and deal with the other symptoms, Bushenyi Education Officer Norman Lukumu told Daily Monitor yesterday.

At least eight students have tested positive for the influenza A H1N1 flu, commonly known as swine flu, with another 180 isolated after showing symptoms of the flu. But parents who turned up to check on their children were yesterday turned away as health officials treated the isolated students.

The government yesterday also announced efforts would now focus on restraining the outbreak of the virus from the border points to dealing with it from within the country. “The problem is that we were at Entebbe trying to keep out the disease but now that it has established itself in the country,” Health Minister Stephen Mallinga told Daily Monitor yesterday.

“There is no need for us to have a team at the border points trying to keep it out. We must concentrate our efforts on following up the cases within the country and to try and prevent the spread of the disease within the country.”

Kitabi Seminary authorities said yesterday that no new cases had been detected by health officials, who have set up an isolation centre and a laboratory at the school.

Rev. Fr. Dido Nsekanimanya, the Kitabi Seminary Rector, said the infected students were quickly recovering. “Actually when you see the students, you wouldn’t know that they have tested positive for the flu. They are just going normally and taking their drugs,” Fr Nsekanimanya told Daily Monitor by telephone. “None of the students is in serious condition. We have plenty of drugs that have been brought here and anyone who exhibits signs of rare flu has been taken for the tests.”

Fr. Nsekanimanya believes the infected students might have contracted the flu while they were still on holiday. Students reported back to school on September 7. “I first noticed the problem on September 12 when so many people were catching flu which did not look normal and I immediately alerted the health officials who came and did tests on the students. That’s how we got these cases that turned out to be positive,” he said.
Fr. Nsekanimanya also said while the school is restricted to the public, it has not closed down.

He said all the students who showed signs of the virus have been quarantined and are undergoing treatment, while the rest of the students continue with their studies.

Samples have also been taken randomly from other students, even though they have not showed signs of the flu, the priest said. Kitabi Seminary which is about 10 Kilometres out of Bushenyi town, has a population of 500 students.The H1N1 virus, which is passed from human to human, is the type A influenza strain made up of a genetic combination of the swine, avian, and human influenza viruses.

Dr Mallinga told Daily Monitor yesterday that the ministry has already dispatched medical officials to the western region to contain further outbreak.“So far in Uganda, the cases of swine flu that we have are mild and we don’t expect this particular case (Kitabi Seminary) to be severe,” Dr Mallinga said by telephone.

[alert]

Re: A/H1N1 flu breaks out in school in western Uganda, infecting 14

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/695460

Swine flu strikes 14 seminarians
Tuesday, 22nd September, 2009 E-mail article Print article

By Anne Mugisa
and Chris Ahimbisibwe

CASES of swine flu in Kitabi Seminary in Bushenyi have reached 14 from eight last week. The health ministry has, as a result, given preventive treatment to all students.

The school remains under quarantine.

The head of the swine flu task force, Dr. Sam Okware, yesterday said over 500 students had received preventive doses. The decision came after the flu struck up to 250 students.

In many parts of the district, parents have stopped children from attending school and some teachers have stayed away for fear of catching the disease.

But Dr. Okware allayed their fears, saying the affected school had been isolated and the students who fled the school were followed up.

He said no case from outside the school had been reported.
The outbreak has caused panic among school managers in the region.

Bushenyi district education officer Norman Lukum advised boarding schools to confine the students and bar visitors from their premises.

[Niko]

Re: A/H1N1 flu breaks out in school in western Uganda, infecting eight

Swine Flu: Parents barred from withdrawing children


Paul Aruho & Otushabire Tibyangye
Bushenyi

The outbreak of the Influenza A H1N1 virus, commonly referred to as swine flu, at Kitabi Seminary in Bushenyi District over the weekend has left parents and local authorities with a dilemma on whether to stick to medical precautionary measures or follow their parental instincts.

When news of the swine flu outbreak first broke in the region over the weekend, parents rushed to the school to ascertain the health status of their children with, in some cases, the hope that they could return the children home.

About eight students have tested positive for the influenza and another 180 isolated.

The dilemma for most of the parents and the authorities though is that swine flu is a highly contagious disease which has so far claimed more than 3,000 lives worldwide and was declared a global epidemic in June by the World Health Organisation (WHO) after spreading to all seven continents within weeks of the first case being confirmed in Mexico.

The Bushenyi District administration eventually decided to bar all parents from visiting their children or withdrawing them from the school, despite resistance from the parents.

The District Chairperson, Mr Ishanga Ndyanabo, told Daily Monitor yesterday that letting the children to return home would only increase the risk of even more people getting infected.

?I call upon parents not to pick children from boarding schools. This means if a child comes home sick he/she could infect the whole family and it will be hard to control,? Mr Ndyanabo said.

Speaking on a Monday radio talk show to sensitise the people about the outbreak of influenza H1N1, Mr Ndyanabo said in case of any outbreak in any other school in the district, administrators should report to the district health officials so that the students are treated within the school premises.

He said the district has received a consignment of assorted drugs to help treat the already infected.
The District Health Officer, Dr Celestine Barigye, has summoned all officials in charge of Health Centre IVs to the district council hall today for a meeting in which they will undergo training on how to attend to swine flu cases.

Dr Barigye urged the farmers not to kill or sell off their pigs cheaply because the H1N1 is not spread by the pigs.
By Monday, the Health Ministry had dispatched a team of experts from its headquarters in Kampala and the WHO Country office to help medical personnel in the area contain the disease. Laboratory and treatment centres have also been set up at the Kitabi Seminary for treating patients and investigate any further cases.

Dr Charles Okoth from WHO said the treatment would take at least three days and each resident of the school would be treated even if he or she was not sick.
Fr Dido Nshekanimanya, the seminary rector, wants the government not to focus at Kitabi alone but to look at the wider community because the students had just come back from home.

Fr Nshekanimanya said the situation was under control and that students who had returned home have been recalled to get treatment like their counterparts at school. He said about 30 students had been given permission to seek treatment from home before it had established that it was swine flu. He added that a team of volunteers has been dispatched to collect some of the remaining students that had gone home for treatment.

The Health State Minister, Mr Richard Nduhuura, who visited the school on Monday, encouraged students to follow instructions from the health officials and avoid contact as much as possible. He assured them that the government would do all it can to see that they remain safe.

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/Swine_Flu_Parents_barred_from_withdrawing_children_91774.shtml

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: A/H1N1 flu breaks out in school in western Uganda, infecting at least 263

Uganda: Swine Flu - Suspected Cases Rise to 263

24 September 2009

At least 263 students of Kitabi Seminary in Bushenyi District have symptoms of Influenza A (H1N1) commonly referred to as Swine Flu, up from the previous 180, the ministry of health has confirmed.

Symptoms include fever, sore throat, cough, chest pain, sneezing and running nose.

The ministry however says that the disease which broke out in the school between September 13 and 17 is still in a mild form and no deaths have been reported.

Nine students from the same school have already tested positive with the flu which was confirmed in the country in May.

The Minister of Health, Stephen Mallinga who briefed journalists on the situation in Bushenyi also said that another school, in the same district, Bishop Ogeza has reported 65 students with flu like illness.

Dr Mallinga said, "On 17th September 2009, ten samples were taken by Ministry of Health officials to the National reference laboratory and 8 students tested positive for Influenza A . At that time 180 students had similar symptoms of fever, sore throat, cough, chest pain, sneezing and running nose. The number has now increased to 263 as of 23rd September 2009,"

Dr Mallinga however says that there is no need for panic, because, if treated early, the disease is curable and that the government has stocked enough drugs.

The disease is acquired through an infection transmitted through sneezing and coughing by the affected persons. Uganda has been experiencing sporadic cases mainly affecting people coming from outside the country.

The Ministry has tested over 95 people and a total of 30 including Kitabi seminary students were found positive for Influenza A (HINl) since May 2009.

Minister Mallinga said that the health ministry has already dispatched a team of experts with logistics and 2000 doses of Tamiflu, the drug used to treat the disease, to work with the district in investigating, treatment and containment of the outbreak.

"The affected students were isolated at the school for proper management. All students, teachers and support staff (552) have been started on treatment, however a few students left for home and are being actively followed up including their contacts," Dr Mallinga added.

He appealed to people to report anyone who develops the symptoms to report to the nearest health unit for proper management.

"The same appeal goes to the management authorities of all training institutions and schools who may notice similar symptoms among students, not to send them home but to isolate them within the school premises," the Minister said.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200909240672.html

[Pathfinder]

Re: A/H1N1 flu breaks out in school in western Uganda, suspected to have infected at least 263

Uganda: Swine Flu Feared in Another School

Anne Mugisa And Chris Ahimbisibwe
24 September 2009

Kampala ?

SWINE flu might have spread to another school in Bushenyi, with 65 students of Bishop Ogeza School showing symptoms of the virus.

The results of the samples taken were not yet out by press time.

Earlier, 263 students of Kitabi Seminary exhibited symptoms of the disease, though only nine cases were confirmed.

The Ministry of Education has issued a directive restricting the movement of anyone with swine flu signs in the affected area.

Health minister Dr. Stephen Mallinga and the Minister of Higher Education, Mwesigwa Rukutana, yesterday said those running away from the affected schools risked spreading the disease.

During a joint press conference, they said the students who fled have put six more districts in south-western Uganda at risk.

They are Mbarara, Ibanda, Ntungamo, Kasese, Isingiro and Kiruhura. The ministry has asked health officials in these districts to monitor the families.

According to Mallinga, the ministry has resorted to giving preventive treatment to all students and teachers totalling 552 people. He said 2,000 doses of Tamiflu, the drug used to treat swine flu, had been sent to Bushenyi.

"This is a disaster because students will spread the infection to a wider population and complicate the situation," Dr. Mallinga said.

The results of the samples from the suspected Bishop Ogeza students, Mallinga said, were expected last evening.

Swine flu was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation in June.

According to the health minister, 95 people in Uganda have been tested for the virus and so far 33 tested positive.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200909250060.html

[B.C.]

Re: A/H1N1 flu breaks out in school in western Uganda, suspected to have infected at least 263

Uganda Health News: Swine flu suspects found negative

The samples taken from 65 students suspected to have been infected with the swine flu virus are all negative.

The samples were taken from students at Bishop Ogeze secondary school in Bushenyi district, where nine other students of Kitabi seminary have tested positive with the flu.

At least 263 students are now reported to have symptoms of the flu while a total of 553 are receiving treatment for the same.

State Minister for Health, James Kakooza says the situation is now under control but calls upon Ugandans to report any person who has symptoms similar to those of swine flu.

Some of the Swine flu symptoms include general body weakness, red eyes, running nose, soar throat as well as severe fever and headache among others.

http://www.ugpulse.com/articles/daily/news.asp?about=Swine+flu+suspects+found+negative&ID=12324

[Pathfinder]

Re: A/H1N1 flu breaks out in school in western Uganda, suspected to have infected at least 263

Third school confirmed with A/H1N1 flu outbreak in Uganda

2009-10-05 20:13:01
KAMPALA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) --

Influenza A/H1N1 has hit the third school in Uganda as 13 students were confirmed with the epidemic, bringing the total cases in the country to 58, state media reported on Monday.

The new cases were confirmed at Ndejje secondary school in Luwero district, central Uganda, after the flu broke out in another two secondary schools in western Uganda, the state-owned New Vision daily reported.

Another 30 students are being monitored at an isolation unit at Ndejje school, said Issa Makumbi, head of disease surveillance at the Health Ministry.

The earlier outbreaks in two secondary schools in Bushenyi and Kabarole district have left 19 students confirmed with the flu and over 300 more under medical surveillance.

Sam Zaramba, the director general of health services at the Health Ministry, told Xinhua in a telephone interview that the situation is under control.

"The situation is under control. We have enough drugs and personnel to handle the pandemic," said Zaramba.

The country has stocked over 40,000 doses of Tamiflu drugs which have proved effective in treating the highly contagious viral disease.

The Education Ministry directed last week all schools with suspected cases of A/H1N1 flu not to send away students to minimize chances of spreading the disease.

Uganda confirmed its first case of the A/H1N1 flu on July 2, which involved a Briton on a visit.

The A/H1N1 flu is highly infectious and transmitted through the air as a result of sneezing, coughing or touching contaminated materials or surfaces.

The symptoms of the disease include sudden on-set of fever, sore throat, cough and flu. They occur within three to seven days after contact with an infected person.

Director General of the World Health Organization Margaret Chan warned during her visit here in August that more A/ H1N1 flu cases could occur on the continent in the near future.

At least 3,917 people worldwide have been killed by the A/H1N1 flu and over 318,900 have been infected since the new flu virus was identified in April, according to the latest WHO report.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-10/05/content_12184377.htm

[Pathfinder]

Re: A/H1N1 flu breaks out in school in western Uganda, suspected to have infected at least 263

Govt bans school visits over swine flu

Wednesday, 7th October, 2009 E-mail article Print article
By Conan Businge

THE Government has ordered all schools to cancel visitations and inter-school activities in an attempt to stem the swine flu spread.

The measures take immediate effect, the the education ministry said in a statement yesterday.

The ministry repeated its earlier instructions that schools should not allow students to go home before the term ends. It added that it would issue guidelines on how schools should close the third term, which ends in December.

It further said the guidelines would make ?school environments healthier, safer and more secure for effective learning?.
Schools have also been instructed to initially ?treat any student with flu, like any other swine flu suspect, until confirmed otherwise?.

Any student with flu should be isolated and reported to the nearest heath facility immediately, the ministry advised.

It ordered boarding schools to avoid double-decker beds and keep the recommended 0.6m-spacing between beds.

The measures follow 25 reported cases of swine flu in three schools, the latest of them being Ndejje SS in Luwero district.

The other two were Katabi Seminary in Bushenyi, where nine students tested positive and Nyakasura School in Kabarole, where seven were infected.
Reports from the affected schools indicate that the isolated students are recovering.

At least 33 cases have been confirmed, mainly in the western district of Bushenyi. No death has been reported.

The first case was on July 2, of a British visitor. Worldwide, about 300,000 cases had been confirmed in 191 countries by September 20.

Symptoms of swine flu
The symptoms are similar to those of common flu: fever, headache, cough, sore throat and muscle and joint pain.

Treatment and prevention
Anybody with flu-like symptoms is advised to stay home. In addition, they should:


Wash hands constantly

Avoid touching public handles and pens as much as possible because they are loaded with germs that may carry the swine flu virus.

Stay out of crowds as much as possible since close proximity to other people heightens the risk of getting the flu.

Wear a surgical mask in heavy traffic areas.

Avoid eating or drinking after others without complete sanitisation of containers or utensils.

Once infected, a patient should see a doctor within 36 hours and ask for Tamiflu or Relenza.

http://geographicalmedia.com/headline/govt-bans-school-visits-over-swine-flu