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**Treyfish** · December 6, 2007, 05:40 PM

Re: New Ebola Strain in Uganda Spreading - Death toll rising

Uganda: MPs Want Govt to Declare State of Emergency Over Ebola Outbreak

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The Monitor (Kampala)
7 December 2007
Posted to the web 6 December 2007
Yasiin Mugerwa
Kampala
MPs yesterday unanimously asked the government to immediately declare a State-of-emergency over the rapidly spreading Ebola epidemic and impose quarantine on already affected areas in western Uganda.
"We need to take radical measures if we are to save our people from this deadly virus," Theodore Ssekikubo, the MP for Rwemiyaga constituency in Ssembabule district, said.

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In the afternoon plenary session dominated by the Ebola debate, most MPs called on the government not to drag its feet when people are dying in the countryside.
"Ebola is a serious disease and the government must declare all affected areas a no-go area. This is a national disaster, and if we continue to sit back, this catastrophe will finish our people," MP Ssekikubo said to a chorus of support from colleagues.
By declaring a state of emergency, the government would be recognising a national tragedy that needs urgent local and international attention. It would also be "trying to unlock" every available support to contain the outbreak before it reaches its full magnitude.
Chua MP Livingston Okello-Okello said free movement of people from and to Ebola-hit areas and other parts of the country is expanding the horizon of infections at an alarming rate since it is difficult to detect Ebola symptoms in infected persons during the gestation period.
Ban movement
"The government must ban any human movement and isolate affected districts in public interest to make the fight against Ebola meaningful," Mr Okello-Okello said.
Mr Ssekikubo had earlier said: "People are dying and there is no more time to waste. We must show the rest of the world that we need help because this disease is dangerous."
Prime Minister Apollo Nsibambi assured members that the declaration of a state of emergency in the Ebola-hit region is one of the urgent issues to be discussed in the Cabinet meeting scheduled for today.
"Under the Constitution, we can declare a state of emergency as we did in flood-hit north and eastern Uganda. I am going to chair a Cabinet meeting tomorrow [today] and this issue will be considered. Indeed, this virus is very complicated and difficult."
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If Cabinet endorses the MPs' request in today's meeting, then President Museveni is expected to issue a proclamation that would later be approved by Parliament under Article 110 (3) of the (amended) Constitution.
Ministry of Health officials say the incurable hemorrhagic fever has so far killed 22 out of 93 infected people; majority of them in Bundibugyo district.
But it will not be until Tuesday next week that Prime Minster Nsibambi returns to the House to brief MPs on Cabinet's decision.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200712061153.html

**HenryN** · December 6, 2007, 05:50 PM

Re: New Ebola Strain in Uganda Spreading - Death toll rising

Fallen Hero - a Tribute to DR Kule

The Monitor (Kampala)

COLUMN
7 December 2007 </B>
Posted to the web 6 December 2007

By Bernard Sabiti

When I teased him whether this was not Marburg or Ebola, he flashed his trademark smile and said: "No my friend, its some form of malaria or pneumonia but you know our local people easily get alarmed
It was my first time to travel to Bundibudyo District, and the reality that I found was different from what I had thought. My journey there was part of my work as a radio journalist with Straight Talk Foundation, a health communication NGO that mainly targets adolescents and young adults.

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From Fort Portal, we embarked on a rough murram road that quickly reminded me of my native Kisoro. Little did I know that I was destined to meet the warmest, kindest person I have ever met in my lifetime.
I visited Nyahuka Health Center IV, a few miles from Bundibugyo town, last month where I found a composed, jolly fairly elderly man.
"You are very welcome to Bundibudyo. My name in Dr Jonah Kule", he said with a broad smile. After we exchanged pleasantries, he took my colleague and I to his office, despite his busy schedule of attending to hundreds of patients who were waiting in the wards.
From the maternity wing to the pediatrics ward, he was both the consultant and operation physician. I wondered why, with the scarcity of doctors in the country, he had left the luxury of Kampala and decided to work in a place that doesn't even have electricity.
"It's the passion for my people" he proudly told me, adding; "I certainly could have gotten a job anywhere, but you see I am the first Mukonzo Doctor in the whole of Bundibudyo, and there is no way I could have declined to serve my people. No one wants to serve here," he said.
Meanwhile, he was signaling to me to hurry up because he was being called to go to the mountains to attend to a 'strange' disease that was killing people. When I teased him whether this was not either Marburg or Ebola, he flashed his trademark smile before telling me; "No my friend, its some form of malaria or pneumonia but you know our local people easily get alarmed."
At the end of the interview, I asked Dr Kule which song he wanted me to play for him when I got back on air. With a broad smile, he answered; "Olubula by Haggai Bwambale"
When I got the heart breaking news that Dr Kule had succumbed to Ebola in the middle of the night of Tuesday December 4 at Mulago Hospital, I couldn't help but wonder how mother nature could be so unfair.
I asked a mukonzo colleague of mine to explain to me the meaning of the word Olubula, and she told me it means "heaven", adding that the artiste of the song is a local gospel musician based in Kasese District.
No doubt, Dr Kule joins Dr Mathew Lukwiya as one of the most patriotic people this country will ever produce. He will be harshly missed by the people of Bundibudyo - a population he so candidly served, but more so, his young widow and five daughters.
May his soul rest in Eternal peace.

http://allafrica.com/stories/printab...712061149.html

**Treyfish** · December 6, 2007, 06:02 PM

Re: New Ebola Strain in Uganda Spreading - Death toll rising

Kenya: Ebola - Medics Sent to Uganda As Ministry Calls for Calm

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The East African Standard (Nairobi)
7 December 2007
Posted to the web 6 December 2007
Elizabeth Mwai
Nairobi
A special medical team has been dispatched to Uganda as the Government stepped up surveillance following the Ebola outbreak.
The Director of Health Promotion, Dr Nicholas Muraguri, yesterday said that four Kenyan experts have joined the International Disaster Response Unit team to stop the spread of the disease in Western Uganda.
The ministry has asked the public to remain calm, as they have activated surveillance systems at border points to detect early signs of danger.
"For now we are safe, but should the risk profile change, the Director of Medical Services, Dr James Nyikal, will issue a statement," Muraguri said.
Speaking to The Standard on telephone, Muraguri advised Kenyans to report to the nearest health official any suspicious case that presents with malaria and typhoid-like symptoms.
He assured that the country had sufficient diagnostic equipment and qualified health officials to detect the disease.

Muraguri noted that experts were in the process of tracking individuals who had come into contact with those infected in order to contain the spread.
He said there was controlled movement to ensure that the disease did not spill over to other parts of Uganda.
"We have not closed the borders, but our integrated disease surveillance systems is on high alert," he said.
He added that reports from Uganda indicated that the disease was under control, but they were not out of the woods, yet.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200712061204.html

**AlaskaDenise** · December 6, 2007, 07:14 PM

Re: New Ebola Strain in Uganda Spreading - Death toll rising

Originally posted by niman View Post

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/12...W_Concern.html

Commentary

Deaths of Uganda Ebola Health Care Workers Cause Concern
Recombinomics Commentary
December 6, 2007

4 B'gyo hospital health care workers quarantined 1/12/07, following complaints of fever (Med Sup Bundibugyo, Dr Sesana, Dr Kule, Clinical officer, and 1 Nurse. So far all improving. Dr Kule in Mulago Isolation unit.

The above comments are from a December 3 weekly update of the Bundibugyo Ebola situation in Uganda. Earlier reports included concerns about hospitalized health care workers, and the above comments paint a fairly benign clinical course.

However, within 24 hours of the release of the report, three of the four health care workers were dead, as were two additional workers not mentioned in the report. The deaths of five health care workers raise serious questions about earlier reports on a low case fatality rate and potential containment due to virus burn-out.

Ebola was first identified as the etiological agent for the current outbreak, but the isolates were a new species that was had only 75% identity with earlier strains, suggesting that the new strain was a recombinant. Since new primers are under development, the lab confirmation of Ebola is far from ideal. Similarly, identification of four other infectious disease outbreaks in the area hamper identification of true Ebola cases, and the large number of cases that are still hospitalized limits the reliability of the case fatality rate, which is said to be low for Ebola, which can kill up to 90% of infected patients.

Although Ebola was not identified until Friday, the health care workers knew that patients were dying from an infectious disease, so they did take precautions, although full PPE?s were not available. Thus, the deaths of five health care workers within a 24 hour period raises concerns that transmission is relatively efficient, and suspect cases at additional locations raises concerns that the virus has already significantly spread.

Tracking down additional patients is hampered by community concerns of the deaths of hospitalized patients, which has greatly reduced the number of patients and workers in local hospitals.

The establishment of a local testing lab should clarify questions on the transmissibility and case fatality rate for the new species of Ebola in Uganda.

.

**HenryN** · December 6, 2007, 08:01 PM

Re: New Ebola Strain in Uganda Spreading - Death toll rising

EBOLA HEMORRHAGIC FEVER - UGANDA (06): (BUNDIBUGYO)
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>
Date: Thu 6 Dec 2007
Source: New Vision online [edited]
<http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/600646>

A medical doctor and 4 health workers, who treated the 1st Ebola
patients in Bundibugyo, have died of the disease. Dr. Jonah Kule, the
medical superintendent of Kikyo Health Centre, succumbed on Tuesday
night [4 Dec 2007]. He had been quarantined at Mulago Hospital.
Senior clinical officer Joshua Kule, senior nursing officer Rose
Bulimpikya, matron Peluce Tabiita and another nurse not yet
identified died yesterday [5 Dec 2007] in Bundibugyo Hospital,
according to senior clinical officer James Agaba.
In a statement yesterday [Wed 5 Dec 2007], the health ministry said
the number of Ebola cases had shot up to 91, after 7 new cases had
been recorded. The death toll has risen to 24. This includes a
Bundibugyo businessman who died on Tuesday [4 Dec 2007]. Eight of the
Ebola cases are health workers.
Contrary to guidelines by the health ministry to immediately bury the
victims, Kule's remains will be taken to his home in Bundibugyo today
[6 Dec 2007] and buried there. The Director of Mulago Hospital, Dr.
Edward Ddumba, said precautionary measures had been taken and there
was no risk of infection from the body.
Bundibugyo chief administrative officer, Elias Byamungu, said Kule
could have been infected when he went to investigate deaths which
locals had attributed to witchcraft. The Bakonjo had accused the
Bamba of bewitching them. "I warned Dr. Kule, but he insisted,
saying: 'Let come what may. I must go down and investigate what is
killing the people.' He investigated, and he wrote a report. That
report is helping the authorities," said Byamungu.
Kule becomes the 2nd medical doctor to die from Ebola in Uganda
through contact with patients. The 1st, Dr. Matthew Lukwiya, died in
Lacor Hospital in 2000 during the 1st ever outbreak of the disease in
Uganda. In Kasese, a teacher who works in Bundibugyo, has been
admitted at Bwera Hospital in Kasese with suspected Ebola. "We have
not yet confirmed if it is Ebola, but he complains of headache, joint
pain, fever, chest pain and bleeding from the nostrils. We have
isolated him," the hospital's medical superintendent, Dr. Yusuf
Baseke, said. He appealed for protective gear for the hospital staff
to be able to handle Ebola cases.
Meanwhile, health ministry sources said yesterday [5 Dec 2007]
experts from the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) and the Ministry of Health were assembling the Ebola-testing
machine at the Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe. Eight
pathogen experts from the CDC also arrived in the country on Tuesday
[4 Dec 20007]. The equipment was brought this week and is expected to
be operational by the beginning of next week. The machine will make
testing for Ebola and other haemorrhagic viruses faster and
intervention quicker. Currently, samples have to be sent to
laboratories in South Africa and the US, causing delays. The Ebola
outbreak in Bundibugyo was only confirmed on 29 Nov 2007 after
initial tests turned out to be negative, according to the health
minister, Dr. Stephen Mallinga. The Bundibugyo Ebola strain is said
to be different from any other known strain [see comment below]. It
is characterised by high fever, abdominal pain and diarrhoea and not
so much internal and external bleeding.
The authorities at Buhinga Regional Hospital in Kabarole district
said some patients had fled, fearing to contract Ebola. One of the
patients who fled was a woman who had been put in isolation at the
hospital after she vomited blood. She was classified as an alert
case, though the results of her test had not yet come back. Radio
stations in Fort Portal ran announcements for anybody who spots the
woman to alert the authorities.
The Fort Portal Catholic Diocese, where a 13-year-old boy died from
suspected Ebola on Sunday [2 Dec 2007], has warned people to stop
self-medication. The health coordinator, Sr. Euphrasia Masika,
advised people to seek help from the nearest health units as soon as
they suspect they may have contracted the disease. She warned that
concealing the disease minimised their chances of getting cured.
Residents of Mbarara town have stopped their traditional culture of
greeting with a hug and a handshake, fearing to contract Ebola. They
have resorted to waving at each other. This followed the death of a
woman who was vomiting blood at Mbarara University Hospital. The
woman was from areas near the hospital. The Ministry of Health took
samples of her blood for testing and buried her body immediately as a
precautionary measure. The management of all the banks in the town
have instructed their staff to wear protective gloves before handling
money from clients. At Stanbic Bank, manager Enid Natukunda said it
was the bank's obligation to protect its staff. "They are all
supplied with gloves. We cannot take chances," Natukunda said.
Make-shift eating places have been hit hardest by the scare as
patrons abandoned them, fearing contact with other people. Two Ebola
taskforces have been set up at Mbarara Hospital.
[Byline: Anne Mugisa, Bizimungu Kisakye, Kyomuhendo Muhanga, John
Thawite and Matthias Mugisha]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
[This report records a dramatic upsurge in cases from 58 (3 Dec 2007)
to 91, and the number of fatalities has increased from 17 (5 Dec 2007) to 24.
This report also states that the outbreak virus is distinct from
known strains of Ebola virus. Provisional sequencing of the genome of
this new virus suggests that it is sufficiently different from
previously isolated Ebola viruses to rank as a 5th species alongside
the existing 4 species: _Ivory Coast ebolavirus_, _Reston
ebolavirus_, _Sudan ebolavirus_, and _Zaire ebolavirus_. However,
this will not be clear until the full genome sequence has been determined.
A ProMED-mail correspondent, Debora MacKenzie, has drawn my attention
to a recent paper describing the involvement of recombination in the
emergence of novel Ebola viruses. Wittmann et al. (Proc Natl Acad Sci
U S A. 2007 Oct 23;104(43):17123-7; <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
sites/entre>), which analysed viruses obtained from great apes in the
Democratic Republic of Congo and identified 2 distinct lineages,
suggesting that virus spillover from a reservoir had occurred more
than once, consistent with a multiple emergence hypothesis. However,
the spatial and temporal sequence of the outbreaks conflicted with
this hypothesis. Further analysis demonstrated the existence of
recombinants This 1st demonstration of recombination in the family
_Filoviridae_ adds an additional level of complexity to unraveling
the relationships between viruses within this taxonomic group.
For this reason, a decision on the taxonomic status of the virus
responsible for the current outbreak in Uganda must await further
analysis. - Mod.CP]

**HenryN** · December 6, 2007, 08:04 PM

Re: New Ebola Strain in Uganda Spreading - Death toll rising

Suspected cases rise as new Ebola strain stalks Uganda

Dec 6, 2007 (CIDRAP News) ? The number of people in Uganda suspected of being infected with a new strain of the Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus has grown to 93, and 22 have died, including four healthcare workers, according to news reports.
The outbreak was first reported on Nov 30 by the World Health Organization (WHO), which said a new subtype of the virus was found to be sickening people in Bundibugyo district in western Uganda. Four Ebola subtypes have previously been identified: Zaire, Sudan, Cote d'Ivoire, and Reston.
Uganda's health ministry said 58 cases have been confirmed in laboratory tests so far, Reuters reported today.
Dr Sam Zaramba, Uganda's director of health services, said one of the healthcare workers was a doctor who died in Kampala's Mulago Hospital after treating a patient in an isolation ward, the Reuters report said.
A report from the BBC today, citing other media reports, said the medical workers became infected with the Ebola virus because they lacked safety equipment. However, Zaramba told Reuters, "All medical staff dealing with Ebola have been issued with protective gear."
Some healthcare workers have threatened to strike unless they receive risk pay and adequate protective equipment, the BBC report said.
Health officials in Uganda say the new Ebola strain seems to have a low death rate when compared with other lethal Ebola strains, according to Reuters. The new strain has a 22%death rate compared with 50% to 90% for the other deadly strains.
However, Tom Ksiazek, MD, chief of the special pathogens branch at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said it's too early to say if the new Ebola strain in milder, the Associated Press (AP) reported yesterday.
Asiya Odugleh-Kolev, a W HO communications official who has worked on several Ebola outbreaks, said a milder Ebola strain might be problematic, because it could spread unnoticed and be confused with other diseases, the AP reported.
Patients have had some unusual initial symptoms, such as vomiting, with the new Ebola strain, WHO spokesperson Gregory Hartl said in a previous AP report. For the other known strains, initial symptoms include fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, and weakness, followed by diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain, according to the CDC. Some patients have internal and external bleeding. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for the disease.
Meanwhile, members of parliament in Uganda today calledon the government to declare a state of emergency and quarantine areas affected by the Ebola outbreak, All Africa News reported today.
"We need to take radical measures if we are to save our people from this deadly virus," said Theodore Ssekikubo, who represents Rwemiyaga in Ssembabule district, during the parliament session today, according to the All Africa report.
Prime Minister Apollo Nsibambi told members of parliament that a state-of-emergency is an urgent matter that will be discussed at a cabinet meeting tomorrow, All Africa reported.
On Uganda's border with Kenya, health officials from Kenya are screening people entering the country, Dr James Nyikal, the country's head of medical services, told the BBC today.
See also:
Nov 30 CIDRAP News story "WHO reports new Ebola virus subtype in Uganda"
CDCinformation about Ebola

Suspected cases rise as new Ebola strain stalks Uganda

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/bt/vhf/news/dec0607ebola2.html

**Treyfish** · December 6, 2007, 08:31 PM

Re: New Ebola Strain in Uganda Spreading - Death toll rising

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=lead_title colSpan=2>Ebola: Gov?t to set up hotline</TD></TR><TR><TD class=lead_title colSpan=2>
Graphic illustration of the virus that causes ebola
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=lead_title colSpan=2>BY EDWIN MUSONI</TD></TR><TR><TD class=lead_body colSpan=2>KIGALI - The government has come up with new mechanisms, including a hotline, in a bid to prevent the spread of the deadly Ebola virus from neighbouring countries. Ebola has killed 20 people, including three medics, in the latest outbreak in Uganda, which shares borders with Rwanda.
There was also an earlier outbreak in the DR Congo.
The Ministry of Health issued a statement yesterday announcing new measures put in place to prevent any spread of Ebola into Rwanda. Among the new measures, the ministry said it?s soon going to set up a free telephone hotline that will be operating nationwide for information sharing on Ebola.
On Tuesday, ministry of health officials met with local and international health partners and epidemic experts to review and devise more precaution measures. ?An Ebola hotline will be put in place to ease the communication with the public and all stakeholders,? the statement indicated.
The government also has set up isolation facilities in all medical centers the border posts with Uganda and DRC. ?Isolation facilities at all medical centers close to the border posts are being set up and whoever will be suspected to be carrying the virus will be put in those isolation cubicles,? it said.
The ministry has also trained a mobile medical team that will be in charge of emergency intervention in case the outbreak spills over to Rwanda.
The team will be on alert 24 hours and would also be in charge of offering timely treatment, in case of a spill over.
During Tuesday?s meeting, local and international health partners including epidemic experts agreed to work together in implementing vital preventive measures. They all concurred that TRAC Plus, the Center for Infectious Diseases, should coordinate the preparedness plan, provide training to health professionals and strengthen communication to the public and health professionals.
The State Minister in charge of HIV/Aids and other Epidemics Dr Innocent Nyaruhirira who chaired the meeting called for strong collaborative efforts and information sharing among all the stakeholders.
Partners that attended the meeting include representatives of TRAC Plus, National Referral Laboratory, the Office of Immigration, World Health Organisation (WHO) the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Great Lakes Initiative on Aids (GLIA) and UNHCR.
Ends
http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?...1&article=2789
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**Treyfish** · December 6, 2007, 08:47 PM

Re: New Ebola Strain in Uganda Spreading - Death toll rising

Ebolapatient behandles i det vestlige Uganda.

http://nyhederne.tv2.dk/article.php/id-9641967.html

no gloves,or mask worth a ****,goggles...don't look good

**AlaskaDenise** · December 6, 2007, 09:43 PM

Re: New Ebola Strain in Uganda Spreading - Death toll rising

Originally posted by niman View Post

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/12...Confirmed.html

Commentary

Uganda Ebola Spread Confirmed
Recombinomics Commentary
December 6, 2007

Government of Uganda and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed 51 cases of suspected hemorrhagic fever, reported in Bundibugyo, Kabarole and Mbarara Districts since September 2007, as Ebola.

The most recently reported three cases, of whom one has died, were recorded in Kabarole’s Fort Portal and Mbarara, and referred to the Ebola Isolation Unit in Bundibugyo.

Health authorities have identified three clusters of infection, each originating from different sites by relative proximity. However, as the most recently identified case was not from the original areas of contamination, investigations are ongoing to determine if there has been an additional outbreak. Two isolation units have been established in Bundibugyo’s Kikywa Health Centre IV (8 cases) and district hospital (9 cases), managed with MSF Switzerland's support. A third centre was established in Kampala's Mulago Hospital (2 cases), managed with MSF Spain support.

The above comments, from a UNICEF report dated December 5, 2007 indicate there has been significant spread of Ebola in Uganda. Earlier reports had described the death of Dr Jonah Kule, 41M, in Mulago Hospital in Kampala, but the above report indicates there are two confirmed cases in the capital. Similarly, there are also confirmed cases in Fort Portal and Mbarara, also signaling significant spread from the epicenter in Bundibugyo.

Media reports indicate the number of suspected cases has now topped 100, but patients are avoiding admission into hospitals, in part because of the number of fatal infections in health care workers. Therefore, the number of patients silently infected with Ebola may be increasing and the virus may be spreading via fleeing patients.

These complications will impact the number of confirmed or suspect patients and hamper contact tracing. Media reports indicate the number of contacts under observation has increased to 330.

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**AlaskaDenise** · December 6, 2007, 09:45 PM

Re: New Ebola Strain in Uganda Spreading - Death toll rising

Originally posted by niman View Post

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/12...read_East.html

Commentary

Ebola Spread to Uganda Eastern Border?
Recombinomics Commentary
December 6, 2007

a team of epidemiologists from Kampala was reported to be heading to eastern Uganda to investigate reports that Ms Olive Mukite, the district information officer of Sironko died yesterday of suspected Ebola infection at Mbale referral hospital.

This follows reports of alert cases in Mbarara, Kabarole, Mubende and Kanungu; where 20-year-old Ivan Asimwe died yesterday.

The above comments raise concerns that Ebola has spread across the southern Uganda. The list represents most of the major cities in southern Uganda and extends from the western to eastern borders. The deaths of two of the suspect cases increases the likelihood these cases will be confirmed Ebola infections. Confirmed cases have already been reported in Kampala. The neighboring countries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya have announced monitoring of border crossings.

Earlier reports confirmed that the suspect cases in south western Uganda were infected with Ebola and raised concerns that the spread had been extensive. The species involved is new and symptoms are not typical of earlier Ebola outbreaks.

The expanded geographical reach compounds problems linked to the high number of fatal infections in health care workers. Some workers had left because of compensation issues, and more may leave because of safety concerns due to lack of PPE?s. Similarly, patients are being discharged from hospitals and suspect cases are fleeing.

More detail on these suspect cases would be useful.

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**AlaskaDenise** · December 6, 2007, 10:44 PM

Re: New Ebola Strain in Uganda Spreading - Death toll rising

Populations:

Bundibugyo - 175,000
Kabarole - 386,000
Mubende - 706,000
Kampala area - about 1 million
Sironko - 292,000

Uganda - 28 million

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**HenryN** · December 6, 2007, 11:30 PM

Re: New Ebola Strain in Uganda Spreading - Death toll rising

Satellite map

Ebola Uganda - Google My Maps

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&t=h&om=0&msid=106484775090296685271.000440a9f060622a05059&ll=1.274309,32.124023&spn=4.93011,7.086182&z=7

Recombinant Ebola in Uganda

**HenryN** · December 7, 2007, 12:09 AM

Re: New Ebola Strain in Uganda Spreading - Death toll rising

Ebola Rising

A new strain of the deadly virus has doctors scrambling to contain the disease.

By Andrew Ehrenkranz
Newsweek Web Exclusive
Updated: 7:45 PM ET Dec 6, 2007
Dr. Stephen Ssesanga thought he was doing just another routine check on a newly admitted patient at the hospital in Bundabigyo, in western Uganda. The man was unable to hold food down, had a very high fever and was having problems breathing and talking. "It seemed to me to be a textbook case of Ebola," says Ssesanga, the hospital's chief medical superintendent, "but I couldn't tell for sure." The man died a few days later, on Nov. 27. Last Friday health officials confirmed the reason for Ssesanga's doubt: a new strain of the deadly Ebola virus is spreading through Uganda. Ssesanga's patient, it seems, had contracted the disease, and the symptoms didn't exactly correspond to known forms of Ebola that caused trouble in the past. By then Ssesabga had a bigger problem: he had contracted the new Ebola virus.
Ssesanga, who's been battling the disease for the past week, has almost regained his strength and appetite. Of eight other medical staff members in his hospital who have become infected with the virus, three have died. "They were all buried today," Ssesanga said, though was unable able leave his quarantine to pay his respects. Funerals, Ssesanga says, are too dangerous in western Uganda right now.
In the last week an outbreak of a new strain of the Ebola virus has ravaged villages across the rural districts of western Uganda. As it has spread, the outbreak has plunged Uganda into a health crisis and put the entire Great Lakes region, from Rwanda to Kenya, on high alert. Ebola II is the fifth strain of the virus since its discovery near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic Congo, in 1976. Some scientists think the new strain of Ebola may be a milder form than earlier strains, which is not necessarily good news—the high mortality rate has previously helped keep transmission levels low, as infected people got sick and died before they could infect too many others. A mild version of Ebola could, in theory, spread more effectively through populations—though health officials are quick to say that there's no solid evidence that this strain is spreading more quickly than past outbreaks.
The current outbreak was first reported in western Uganda in late August, but because of a variety of logistical and clinical difficulties, not the least being that many locals consult herbalists and traditional healers rather than medical practitioners, confirmation was slow in coming. As of now, with 33 reported dead out of a total of nearly 71 infections in the epicenter Bundabigyo district, the virus appears to have a considerably higher survival rate than the four prior strains. Officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control emphasize that the data are not conclusive. To confirm the mortality rate, doctors must make further study of patients in the field. Only when that work is done, weeks from now, will they be able to characterize the new strain.
Ugandan officials have refused to comment on how the current outbreak got started, and epidemiologists from the CDC and World Health Organization are actively working to pin down the source. According to a number of other Ugandan and foreign doctors with clinical knowledge of the outbreak, the present consensus is that this strain originated in a monkey killed and eaten by a Ugandan man and his family in the highland village of Kyiko, near the Congolese border. The hunter and four of his 14 family members, battling high fevers and extreme nausea, sought care at a government-run hospital, where medical workers, puzzled by their symptoms, treated them for food poisoning.
The eating of monkey and "bushmeat" is an accepted tradition throughout the eastern Congo—monkeys, dead and alive, are sold in markets for consumption. But because the practice is prohibited in Uganda, people tend to deny it. The hunter's claim that he had become sick from consuming infected goat meat, which is considered to be an unlikely carrier for Ebola, certainly didn't help health workers identify the disease.
Like other cases, this Ebola II strain has an incubation period of up to 21 days before an infected person experiences symptoms. Earlier Ugandan health ministry inquiries into a so-called "mystery" virus in western Uganda spawned speculative diagnoses of leporetosis and the Marburg virus, a feared hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola that was successfully contained after an outbreak among Ugandan mine workers last July. Ebola is not airborne, but rather passes through contact with bodily fluids or skin. Studies have shown that in the past it has spread to humans from contact with wild chimpanzees, antelope and gorillas, according to analyses of cases in the Congo, Gabon, and Sierra Leone. And with 13 different primate species, the Bundabigyo region of Uganda has the most variation of primates on earth.
Allegations that the government intentionally concealed the outbreak have swirled through newly beautified Kampala since the announcement of the new Ebola strain last week. Today the state-run New Vision newspaper lashed out against the ministry of health for mishandling the situation, blaming the deaths and new infections of medical staff on the lack of readily available protective gear and underfunded hospitals in the outbreak region.
Dr. Jakson Amone, a senior health ministry official in Bundadisgyo, is concerned about the possibility of the new strain of Ebola spreading across the rest of Uganda and into its relatively populous capital, Kampala. "It's hard to treat something you've never seen before," he says. A task force of local doctors and specialists from the CDC, the World Heath Organization and Doctors Without Borders as well as local and international NGOs are working around the clock to contain the outbreak. "We have plenty of manpower on the ground now. We are going village to village looking to find and isolate new cases," says Amone. A dramatic rise in the number of reported infections in the coming days, he suggests, could be the result of better surveillance and monitoring.
For Dr. Ssesanga, who's anxious to get back to his hospital when he's fully recovered from his bout with the disease, fear and panic are the greatest enemies to containing the outbreak. With more cases confirmed each day, doctors and civilians are staying away from the hospital. As of this morning the usually crowded maternity ward at Bundadigybo was empty. Dr. Scott Mehyre, an American missionary doctor who runs a health clinic in a neighboring village, is down to only three doctors working in shifts clad in isolation suits. "This virus is spreading by the foot of the hills," Ssesanga says, referring to the many people who may be affected but are trying to flee the region. "Running away is the worst thing people can do now."
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**HenryN** · December 7, 2007, 12:42 AM

Re: New Ebola Strain in Uganda Spreading - Death toll rising

Commentary at

State of Emergency Call Linked To Uganda Ebola Spread

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/12070701/Ebola_Uganda_Emergency.html

Recombinomics Commentary

**HenryN** · December 7, 2007, 12:54 AM

Re: New Ebola Strain in Uganda Spreading - Death toll rising

Private Site

http://ugandaninsomniac.wordpress.com/2007/12/06/mbale-records-first-ebola-death/

The first suspected Ebola death outside Kampala City and the Rwenzori Mountains region has been recorded at Mbale Hospital. Olive Esther Mukite, the Sironko District Information Officer, died this evening at about 5 p.m.
Olive Mukite was admitted at Mbale Hospital this morning after displaying symptoms of Ebola and was quickly placed in an isolation ward.Henry Luigale, the Mbale Hospital Medical Superintendent, says Mukite and 65 councilors from Sironko returned from a study tour of Kisoro district on Friday last week. He cannot say for sure that Mukite died of the disease and is awaiting a post mortem report from a team of medical experts from Kampala who will travel to Mbale tomorrow. No case of the hemorrhagic fever has been reported in either Kisoro districts.
The staff at Mbale Hospital were completely unprepared for Ebola in their neck of the woods and several medical officers, including a nurse who was by Mukite?s side throughout her ordeal, have been put in isolation for observation.

~ by tumwijuke on December 6, 2007.

Announcement

Ebola in Uganda: November 30 - December 17, 2007

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