Uganda: Cholera outbreaks

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/709687

Four people die of cholera in Manafwa
Wednesday, 10th February, 2010

By Daniel Edyegu

A 56-year-old woman has died of cholera in Lwakhakha Town Council, pushing the death toll to four since the epidemic broke out in Manafwa district last month.

David Makanya, the district health inspector, on Tuesday said the woman died on her way to the treatment centre at Magale Health Centre IV.

?When we got to know of the circumstances surrounding the death, we visited her home and took tests before she was buried,? Makanya said, adding that five people are admitted at Magale.

Makanya noted that whereas the outbreak had been contained in the sub-counties of Bumbo and the newly-created Bukhoko, it had spread to Bumoni sub-county and Lwakhakha town council at the Uganda-Kenya border, where six new cases had been registered.

He attributed the spread of the disease to the use of contaminated water from River Lwakhakha, which runs along the border between the two countries.

He added that some of the victims had contracted the disease from Kenya.

?The quality tests we carried out on the water from Taaso stream that runs through Bumbo, Bukokho and Bumoni sub-counties indicated that it was contaminated with cholera germs. This stream connects to River Lwakhakha, where most residents in the town council fetch water for domestic use,? Makanga explained.

A total of 42 cases have been registered since the disease broke out.
Makanya said district authorities had closed Kaboole Primary School in Taaso village, to prevent the spread of the disease.

?We are now focusing on sensitising pupils and students in schools and tertiary institutions throughout the district about cholera. We believe that these children can carry the message back home in order to help mitigate the spread,? Makanya added.

[Shiloh]

Re: Uganda: Cholera outbreaks

Source: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/16/718431

3 die of cholera in Moroto
Tuesday, 4th May, 2010
By Olandason Wanyama

Three of the 47 people admitted to Moroto Hospital following a cholera outbreak in the district have died. Among those in critical condition are 20 children aged between four and seven years.

Hospital authorities have isolated the victims due to the contagious nature of the disease. The district health officer, Michael Omeke, on Monday said the health ministry had confirmed the presence of cholera in several villages in Moroto.

?The health ministry has confirmed a cholera outbreak. All residents should be on alert,? he said. Omeke said the origin of the disease was suspected to be in Kanakomol village in Nadunget sub-county.

He attributed the spread of the disease to the torrential rains in Karamoja. Omeke urged the residents to boil water before drinking it and to use clean containers.

He also advised them to dispose of excreta in pit-latrines. By press time, the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and the Italian health department had delivered drugs to help control the fast-spreading disease.

Cholera is a contagious disease that comes with severe diarrhoea. It is transmitted orally through drinking contaminated water and eating cold food.

[Shiloh]

Re: Uganda: Cholera outbreaks

Source: http://www.istockanalyst.com/article...icleid/4089687


Cholera outbreak kills nine in northeastern Uganda
Wednesday, May 05, 2010 4:01 AM

Uganda, May 5, 2010 (Xinhua News Agency) -- A Cholera outbreak in the northeastern Ugandan district of Moroto has killed nine people and over 65 people have been hospitalized, a district health official said on Wednesday. Michael Omeke, the district health officer told Xinhua by telephone that the situation is worsening since the disease broke out last week. "We have now about sixty eight patients admitted, a situation that has forced the hospital to run out of beds.? We have now set up a treatment center that will ensure that the cholera cases are taken care of," said Omeke.

He said the most affected area is Nadunget Sub County where the hygienic conditions are very poor...

[Shiloh]

Re: Uganda: Cholera outbreaks

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201005170121.html

Uganda: Red Cross Sends Health Team to Moroto
Taddeo Bwambale
16 May 2010

Kampala ? The Uganda Red Cross Society has sent an emergency team to Moroto district following a cholera outbreak in the area.

The team will work with local authorities to conduct cholera prevention interventions in the district as well as in the neighbouring communities in Karamoja sub-region.

Last week, three people died of cholera, while 70 others were admitted at Moroto Hospital.

A total of 145,000 people from 20 villages in Karamoja sub-region have been affected by the outbreak.
Click to learn more...

The most affected villages are Kanakomol, Naitakwe, Kambizi, Nacho, Nakapelimen and Nechele...

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Uganda: Cholera outbreaks

Moroto District Cholera cases (see link or attachment).
http://ocha-gwapps1.unog.ch/rw/fullmaps_af.nsf/luFullMap/D0678B9D7FD10969852577270052C6AA/$File/map.pdf?OpenElement

[Shiloh]

Re: Uganda: Cholera outbreaks

Source: http://www.ugpulse.com/articles/dail...reak+&ID=14635

Uganda People News: Two hospitalized in Kampala over cholera outbreak
First published: 20100530 6:29:28 AM EST

Two people in Katanga, a Kampala suburb have been hospitalized at Mulago Hospital following an outbreak of cholera in Kawempe division.

This brings the number of people infected with cholera to three in the past two weeks in Kampala...

[Shiloh]

Re: Uganda: Cholera outbreaks

Source: http://www.ugpulse.com/articles/dail...yunga&ID=14800

Uganda People News: Cholera kills more five in Kayunga
First published: 20100615 3:28:15 AM EST

Ultimate Media

A total of more five people have died of cholera in Kawongo village, Kayunga District yesterday bringing the number of dead in last one week to 20.

In a bid to save their lives many people have vacated this village in fear of contracting the disease. Others have been admitted at several hospitals in Kayunga and at Mulago in Kampala in critical condition...

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Uganda: Cholera outbreaks

Cholera in Karamoja - cultural beliefs, poverty hindering sanitation transformation

There may be no reason to wonder why cholera killed nine people and affected 557 in Karamoja region in the last one and half months. As you slope down Nakapelemen, one of the most affected villages in Moroto District, human waste and a nasty smell welcome you.
According to the Uganda Red Cross Society Regional Programme officer for Karamoja, Dr Peter Eriaku, the people in Nakapelemen and other affected villages are the major source of the problem. Dr Eriaku says as he jogs around Nakapelemen in the morning, he sees a number of people easing themselves along the path to the village. This is because there are no latrines in the area.

With human waste littered in the all path, open food vending is not rare. Flies from the waste land directly onto the food. To make it worse, the area where local brew (kwete) is prepared is not very far from where people ease themselves. According to Dr Eriaku, the situation worsens when it rains as the human waste is washed away directly into the brew.
Dr James Elima, the Moroto district Health Officer, says the situation is not likely to improve soon as latrine coverage in the district is only 10 per cent. He also attributes the cholera outbreak to the drought that affected the district in the last two years leading to a breakdown of the major water sources; the boreholes. ?When the water sources breakdown, people resort to fetching water from the valleys which are at the same time used for defecation and for animal watering,? Dr Elima says.
Culture also poses a big challenge in Karamoja. Dr Elima says people in Karamoja believe they should not mix human waste with in-laws and that it is a taboo for pregnant women to ease themselves from latrines. As a result, they resort to open defecation.
The low latrine coverage is attributed to expenses involved in constructing a latrine. Dr Elima says the area is so rocky making it difficult and costly to construct the latrines by poverty-stricken residents.
He says enforcement of by-laws is hard because the Karimojong always turn rowdy on the law enforcers. Despite the harassment faced in an attempt to foster change, the District Health Office is not threatened and has continued to partner with organizations like the Uganda Red Cross to put in place mechanisms to improve sanitation in Moroto. The District Police Commander together with the staff under him have been tasked to arrest everyone who engages in open defecation, open food vending and preparation of the local brew (kwete).
Change is also being fostered through massive sensitization of communities. Uganda Red Cross is taking the lead in this exercise. URCS Moroto Branch is part of the district task force handling the cholera outbreak. The branch has trained 40 trainers of trainers and 200 community based volunteers in participatory hygiene and sanitation transformation and they are moving around the 11 affected sub counties sensitizing communities how to prevent the disease. The affected sub counties are Nadunget, Municipality North, Municipality South, Katikekile, Rupa, Lopei, Matany, Loteme, Iriri, Nakapelimen and Lokopo.
URCS Moroto Branch has distributed water containers, aqua tabs, soap and latrine digging kits to residents of the affected villages and monitors the use of these items. The branch volunteers also engage in identification and referral of patients.
The URCS Hoima regional project officer for water and sanitation is in Moroto on a water quality analysis mission. His findings are expected to inform the URCS intervention decisions.
With the concerted efforts, the number of cholera patients has drastically reduced. When a team of journalists visited the cholera treatment centre at Moroto Hospital on 10th May, the majority of people had been discharged. Only four patients were still under monitoring at the centre and were in stable condition.

http://www.redcrossug.org/?jc=TopNews

[Shiloh]

Re: Uganda: Cholera outbreaks

Source: http://sify.com/news/10-killed-in-ch...rxuebaajc.html

10 killed in cholera outbreak in Uganda
2010-06-17 23:20:00

At least 10 people died and 20 were hospitalised after a cholera epidemic broke out in Uganda's Kayunga district, officials said Thursday.

The epidemic that broke out June 4 at the Kawongo landing site was due to poor sanitation, Edrisa Musisi, district health officer, said.

'The hygienic conditions at the site are very poor. There are no latrines. People defecate in the bushes and water streams,' Musisi was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

'The situation is made worse as people bath in the lake, use the same water for drinking and cooking,' he said.

Musisi said the district authorities would enact laws to ensure that each family has a properly-constructed latrine to control the spread of the disease.

Health workers have been sent to the site to sensitise the population on the dangers of living in dirty places and consuming contaminated water, he said.

A similar cholera outbreak in May in Moroto district left nine people dead and over 65 were hospitalised.

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Uganda: Cholera outbreaks

Cholera kills seven in Kotido
Friday, 6th August, 2010 E-mail article Print article

By Olandason Wanyama
SEVEN people died of cholera last week following an outbreak in Nangodia village in Panyangara sub-county, Kotido district.

They lived in Aurukan Kraal, which has a population of over 2,000 Karimojong.
The district chairman, Rex Achilla, on Thursday said 546 people had been hospitalised at Kotido health centre with symptoms of cholera, but had been discharged. He attributed the outbreak to heavy rains and poor sanitation.

Achilla added that cholera had hit all sub-counties with at least a case being reported daily. He identified the most affected sub-counties as Panyangara, Rengen and Kotido town council. Nakaperimolu, Kaceeri and Kotido, have had isolated cases.

However, Achilla said health officers were sensitising communities on how to prevent cholera and he also advised residents to boil water before drinking it, to eat hot food and to use pit latrines to prevent another outbreak.

Meanwhile, the office of the Prime Minister has dispatched a truck to ferry clean water to kraals to curb the disease.

Cholera is caused by a bacterial infection of the intestines and is characterised by rapid loss of fluids leading to dehydration or death.

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/727982

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Uganda: Cholera outbreaks

Cholera kills 3 in Butaleja
Monday, 23rd August, 2010 E-mail article Print article

By Moses Bikala

Three people have died following a cholera outbreak in Butaleja district. They are Ayoub Were, a 12-year-old student residing in Bugosa cell, Peter Were, a casual labourer, and John Baba, a saloon operator, both in Busolwe town council.

The district health officer, Dr. Kenneth Mweru, said 20 people were admitted at Nabiganda Cholera Treatment Centre in critical condition. He noted that health authorities were monitoring and sensitising the public on ways of preventing the disease.

Mweru said six of the first victims of cholera could have contracted the disease from the funeral of one of the people who had died of the disease in Busolwe

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/17/729629

[Shiloh]

Re: Uganda: Cholera outbreaks

Source: http://www.ugpulse.com/articles/dail...pala+&ID=16934


Uganda Health News: Cholera outbreaks reported in Kampala
UGPulse News is Sponsored by Peezy First published: 20101205 4:10:05 AM EST

An outbreak of cholera has been reported in Kampala with three people already admitted at Mulago National Referral hospital.
The Local Council 5 councilor at Kampala City Council representing Makerere University, Bernard Luyiga says that three people, one among them from Katanga village, Kawempe division, near Makerere University has been admitted at the hospital suffering from diarrhea...