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Unknown disease kills 9 in western Uganda
www.chinaview.cn 2008-08-14
KAMPALA, Aug 13 (Xinhua) -- Nine people out of 27 cases have so far died of an unidentified epidemic that has hit the western Ugandan district of Kasese in recent weeks, a district official has said.
Peter Mukobi, the district health officer, told Xinhua by telephone on Wednesday that preliminary investigations show that the outbreak may be typhoid but he is awaiting confirmatory results from the country's central public laboratory.
He said that the victims showed signs and symptoms of fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea and later constipation.
A medical team from the health ministry is already in the district carrying out various tests and promoting proper hygiene and sanitation as one of the measures to contain the spread of the disease, he said.
"We are advising people to drink boiled water, wash hands after going to the toilet, dispose off fecal matter properly and generally maintain proper hygiene," said Mukobi.
The East African country has recently been hit by a string of epidemics since late last year including Ebola, meningitis, cholera, Hepatitis E.
A rare strain of cholera ravaged eastern Uganda in June this year, killing 28 of the 350 people who were infected. Hepatitis E is currently ravaging parts of northern Uganda and has, since December last year, killed 106 people out of the over 6,500 cases.
www.chinaview.cn 2008-08-14
KAMPALA, Aug 13 (Xinhua) -- Nine people out of 27 cases have so far died of an unidentified epidemic that has hit the western Ugandan district of Kasese in recent weeks, a district official has said.
Peter Mukobi, the district health officer, told Xinhua by telephone on Wednesday that preliminary investigations show that the outbreak may be typhoid but he is awaiting confirmatory results from the country's central public laboratory.
He said that the victims showed signs and symptoms of fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea and later constipation.
A medical team from the health ministry is already in the district carrying out various tests and promoting proper hygiene and sanitation as one of the measures to contain the spread of the disease, he said.
"We are advising people to drink boiled water, wash hands after going to the toilet, dispose off fecal matter properly and generally maintain proper hygiene," said Mukobi.
The East African country has recently been hit by a string of epidemics since late last year including Ebola, meningitis, cholera, Hepatitis E.
A rare strain of cholera ravaged eastern Uganda in June this year, killing 28 of the 350 people who were infected. Hepatitis E is currently ravaging parts of northern Uganda and has, since December last year, killed 106 people out of the over 6,500 cases.
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