Red Cross Officials Confirm Chicken Pox Outbreak in Uganda - not Small Pox

[Shiloh]

Small pox reported in Bududa camps


By Tabu Butagira (email the author)



Posted Thursday, March 25 2010 at 00:00
In Summary
Meanwhile, the government has sent a team of geologists from Makerere University to assess the risk to Manafwa District residents living on Mt. Elgon slopes following the discovery of a five-kilometre long uphill fissure.



Kampala

Four children in Internally Displaced People’s camps in Bududa District, reportedly suffering from small pox, have been taken to Bukigai and Bulucheke Health Centres III and II, respectively.

Ms Kevin Nabutuwa, Uganda Red Cross’ regional programme officer for eastern Uganda, said last evening that the infections were registered on Monday and Tuesday.



Spread contained
“These are cases in the IDP camps but the spread has been contained,” she said by phone.

In Kampala, Dr Richard Nduhuura, the state minister for Health (general duties), said he is “unaware” of the outbreak of the disease that scientists say can kill three out of every 10 infected persons.

He referred this newspaper to the acting Director General of Health Services, Dr Kenya Mugisha, who was unavailable for comment

Information posted on the World Health Organisation website indicates that small pox, an ancient communicable disease infamous for killing Queen Mary II of England, is transmitted mainly through infected aerosols and air droplets.

“The frequency of infection is highest after face-to-face contact with a patient,” says WHO.
Symptoms include fever, headache, and back/abdominal pangs. Survivors usually remain with deep-pitted scars (pockmarks), most prominently on the face.

Meanwhile, the government on Wednesday sent a team of geologists from Makerere University to assess the risk to Manafwa District residents living on Mt. Elgon slopes following the discovery of a five-kilometre long uphill fissure.

Disaster Preparedness Minister Tarsis Kabwegyere said arrangements are underway to relocate the most-at-risk populations.

“We have called on area Members of Parliament and councillors to be involved in the mobilisation and senstisation of the residents to avoid another tragedy,” he said by phone.

Villages at risk
A joint team of bureaucrats, Uganda Red Cross Society and local officials inspected the fault line yesterday.
Initial reports suggested some 10,000 people in 33 villages could be buried by landslides following the expanding crack that has already pushed a mass of soil halfway, downhill.


http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/886256/-/wjtmm9/-/

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Smallpox outbreak in Uganda??

Re: Smallpox outbreak in Uganda??

Possible chicken pox misdiagnosed if doctors are no longer used to seeing "full" chicken pox cases. This description froma doctor treating chicken pox in the US

"We've seen some mild cases," Dr. Marc McDermott, a pediatrician with Northern Berkshire Pediatrics, said on Wednesday. "What we're seeing in children who have had the varicella vaccination is what looks like a rash -- from a few red raised bumps to a few dozen bumps. Children aren't getting the red itchy blisters that were the hallmark of the illness. Twenty years ago, you would know a child had the chickenpox because he would have a 102-degree fever and break out in hundreds of blisters." http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_14696905?source=most_emailed

While local pediatricians wouldn't call the local cases a cause for concern, outbreaks of the illness, which can cause major complications, were most recently reported in vaccinated children in San Diego County schools and at the University of Wisconsin -- LaCosse campus. Internationally, outbreaks of epidemic proportions have been reported in Uganda, India and Vietnam, where thousands of unvaccinated children and adults are reportedly suffering from respiratory complications caused by the virus.

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed

Kevin Nabutuwa is with the Uganda Red Cross. A snip from an article by AP and carried on NPR:


" At least four people were plucked alive Wednesday from the wreckage, two days after the mud slides began, but more than 250 are missing, said Kevin Nabutuwa of the Uganda Red Cross...."


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124267827

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed

Bududa

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed

Chicken Pox strikes Pader

Posted Tuesday, February 16 2010 at 00:00

Pader
An outbreak of chicken pox has occurred in parts of Pader District, leaving hundreds of people, mainly children, infected.

Authorities in the area identified the worst affected sub-counties as Latanya, Acholi Bur, Wol and Kalongo Town Council in Aruu and Agago counties.

A local council leader, Mr Quinto Odora last week said the disease has forced many children to stay out of school.

Mr Odora added that the situation has been worsened by long distance to the nearest health facility in Latanya.

Chicken pox is spread through direct contact or by air from an infected person?s coughing or sneezing.

The disease usually starts with vesicular skin rash mainly on the body and head and becomes itchy raw pockmarks which mostly heal without scarring.

The officer in charge of Latanya Health Centre, Mr Richard Lamero, said efforts to contain the disease are being hindered by shortage of drugs.

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/862608/-/wiiuke/-/index.html




<small>District location in Uganda</small> Coordinates:

02?50′N 33?05′E

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pader_District

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed

Thanks Sally, those areas are fairly far apart.

The author of the article is a David Astor Journalism Award Trust Fellow. I hope she knows the difference between chicken pox and small pox.

"...The 2008 and 2009 award winners were: Murithi Mutiga at The Sunday Nation and Jillo
Kadida at The Daily Nation in Kenya; Valentine Marc Nkwame at The Daily News and Erick
Kabendera at The Guardian in Tanzania; and Tabu Butagira at The Daily Monitor and
Barbara Among at The New Vision in Uganda."

http://www.journalism.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2982&Itemid=37

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed

Four children in Internally Displaced People?s camps in Bududa District, reportedly suffering from small pox, have been taken to Bukigai and Bulucheke Health Centres III and II, respectively.

It says children. Chicken pox is usually a childhood illness

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed

UNDIAGNOSED ILLNESS, POX VIRUS SUSPECTED - UGANDA (BUDUDA): REQUEST
FOR INFORMATION
***********************************************************************


Date: Thurs 25 Mar 2010
From: Daily Monitor (Uganda) online [edited]
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/886256/-/wjtmm9/-/index.html


Small pox reported in Bududa camps
--------------------------------
Four children in Internally Displaced People's camps in Bududa
District, reportedly suffering from small pox, have been taken to
Bukigai and Bulucheke Health Centres III and II, respectively.


- snip -
--
Communicated by:
Sharon Sanders for Flutrackers.com
ftcom@embarqmail.com


[Natural infection with smallpox (Variola major) having been
eliminated, our past experience with these types of reports usually
reveals an outbreak of chickenpox, molluscum, or rarely true pox
virus infections such as monkeypox . Of course, the possibility of
intentional or accidental release of variola is always of extreme
concern. More information is urgently requested from those with
firsthand knowledge of the situation.

A map of the Bududa district, near the Kenyan border, can be found at:
http://www.geonames.org/7056280/bududa-district.html - Mod.LM]

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f..._BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,81911

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed

WHO says investigating smallpox reports in Uganda


25 Mar 2010 08:30:35 GMT
<!-- 25 Mar 2010 08:30:35 GMT ## for search indexer, do not remove --> Source: Reuters



<!-- AN5.0 article title end --> <script language="JavaScript" src="http://www.alertnet.org/bin/js/article.js"></script> <input value="13" name="CurrentSize" id="CurrentSize" type="hidden"> <!-- WHO says investigating smallpox reports in Uganda --> <!-- Reuters --> LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation said on Thursday it was investigating reports of cases of the previously eradicated disease smallpox in eastern Uganda.

snip

"WHO is aware of the reports coming out of Uganda and is taking all the necessary measures to investigate and verify." (Reporting by Kate Kelland, editing by Michael Roddy)


http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE62O0FT.htm

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed - WHO Investigating

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed - WHO Investigating

The release of a news of this kind - unsubstantiated by hard facts - may be prosecuted as criminal. All persons involved in tracking this incident must be aware of this.

 

[tropical]

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed - WHO Investigating

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed - WHO Investigating

2008
Ugandan Monkeys Harbor Evidence Of Infection With Unknown Poxvirus [ScienceDaily 2008-04-22

http://www.animalpicturesarchive.com/view.php?tid=2&did=29031&lang=kr

"“Considering that we found evidence for a new poxvirus pretty much in the first place that we chose to look is suggestive that the actual diversity of poxviruses in nature, especially in relatively unstudied areas like sub-Saharan Africa, may be much greater than we originally thought,” Goldberg said.
...
An initial screening for antibodies to the vaccinia virus yielded positive results in about one-quarter of the monkey<!--monkey-->s tested. This was not clear evidence of infection with vaccinia, however.

“We found that as we screened these monkey<!--monkey-->s initially for a broad range of poxviruses, many of them came up positive,” Goldberg said.

The researchers were surprised to find that the monkey<!--monkey-->s harbored antibodies to some, but not all, of the proteins associated with the known poxviruses, Goldberg said. Whatever had infected the monkey<!--monkey-->s “looked a little bit like monkey<!--monkey-->pox virus, a little bit like vaccinia virus, a little bit like cowpox virus, but not exactly like any of them,” he said."

___

If I'm not wrong, at the time of the last recent gu.w. related spox vacc. preparations, it seems they must use a ~(1000 ?) times greather dose to try infect the poor lab monkeys in the exp. (that news was free public released on the web).

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed - WHO Investigating

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed - WHO Investigating

UPDATED

WHO says investigating smallpox reports in Uganda

Thu Mar 25, 2010 8:52am GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation said on Thursday it was investigating reports of suspected cases of the previously eradicated disease smallpox in eastern Uganda.

Smallpox is an acute contagious disease and was one of the world's most feared sicknesses until it was officially declared eradicated worldwide in 1979.

"WHO takes any report of smallpox seriously," Gregory Hartl, a spokesman for the Geneva-based United Nations health agency, told Reuters via email.

"WHO is aware of the reports coming out of Uganda and is taking all the necessary measures to investigate and verify."

He added that the WHO had received reports before of smallpox cases, but they had turned out to be false alarms.

"In the past, these cases have always turned out not to be smallpox and were, usually, either chickenpox or monkeypox cases," he said, stressing that these reports were of suspected cases of the disease.

Smallpox was eradicated by a collaborative global vaccination programme led by the World Health Organisation. The last known natural case was in Somalia in 1977.

Since then, the only known cases were caused by a laboratory accident in 1978 in Birmingham, England, which killed one person and caused a limited outbreak.


http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE62O06320100325

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed - WHO Investigating

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed - WHO Investigating

Chickenpox was commonly confused with smallpox in the immediate post-eradication era. Chickenpox and smallpox can be distinguished by several methods. Unlike smallpox, chickenpox does not usually affect the palms and soles. Additionally, chickenpox pustules are of varying size due to variations in the timing of pustule eruption: smallpox pustules are all very nearly the same size since the viral effect progresses more uniformly. A variety of laboratory methods are available for detecting chickenpox in evaluation of suspected smallpox cases.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed - WHO Investigating

Re: Smallpox In 4 People Reported in Uganda - Not Confirmed - WHO Investigating

More on the research Tropical found, some snips:


http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/new-monkey-pox-discovered-uganda-16057.html

Researchers report this month that red colobus monkeys in a park in western Uganda have been exposed to an unknown orthopoxvirus, a pathogen related to the viruses that cause smallpox, monkeypox and cowpox. Most of the monkeys screened harbor antibodies to a virus that is similar – but not identical – to known orthopoxviruses.

...

Little is known about the global distribution of orthopoxviruses, Goldberg said, but their potential to cross from other animals into humans warrants more attention. (Some believe that smallpox, which killed 300 to 500 million people in the 20th century before it was eradicated in 1980, originated in African rodents thousands of years ago.)

...
Under the right circumstances, orthopoxviruses can jump from a host species into a new species. This is worrisome in a region known to harbor a diversity of wildlife and where interactions between people and wildlife are on the rise, Goldberg said.

"Western Uganda has one of the fastest growing populations in sub-Saharan Africa," he said. "People need land, and so do wildlife, and as competition for land becomes fiercer, contact between people and wildlife becomes more common."

The relatively high prevalence of HIV and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa also makes human populations more susceptible to pathogens that might otherwise only afflict wildlife.

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: WHO Says Likely Chicken Pox in Uganda - not Small Pox

Re: WHO Says Likely Chicken Pox in Uganda - not Small Pox

<nyt_headline version="1.0" type=" ">WHO - Reported Ugandan Smallpox Is Likely Chickenpox</nyt_headline>

<nyt_byline> By REUTERS

</nyt_byline> Published: March 25, 2010
Filed at 7:45 a.m. ET



"It appears that the supposed cases of smallpox are actually cases of chickenpox, and that they have occurred over the past three weeks -- this is not an acute event," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said in a statement.

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/03/25/world/international-uk-uganda-smallpox-who.html

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: WHO Says It Appears to be Chicken Pox in Uganda - not Small Pox

Re: WHO Says It Appears to be Chicken Pox in Uganda - not Small Pox

WHO rules out smallpox outbreak in eastern Uganda

KAMPALA, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) office here has ruled out an outbreak of smallpox in eastern Uganda after suspected cases were reported.
Joaquim Saweka, WHO country representative, told Xinhua by telephone on Thursday that preliminary investigations show that the suspected cases may turn out to be chickenpox, which is common in the East African country.
"It is not smallpox, most likely it is chickenpox and these are isolated cases without linkage. It is not an outbreak," he said.
He said a WHO team is already in the area and will issue a detailed report later.
The suspected cases were detected three or four weeks ago, according to him.
The Daily Monitor, a local newspaper, reported on Thursday that four children in Internally Displaced People's camps in Bududa district were suspected cases.

more.....

http://thecitizen.co.tz/news/2-inte...-out-smallpox-outbreak-in-eastern-uganda.html

 

[alert]

Re: WHO Says It Appears to be Chicken Pox in Uganda - not Small Pox

Re: WHO Says It Appears to be Chicken Pox in Uganda - not Small Pox

While this now appears likely to be chickenpox, monkeypox should be ruled out. That disease is enzootic in much of Africa, and isolated cases can occur through contact with infected animals. Limited person-to-person spread of monkeypox can happen however, so it would be important to perform contact tracing in that event.

Smallpox really never was a possible diagnosis here - Uganda does not have any BSL-4 labs that could contain the virus, and the virus was eradicated globally decades ago.

 

[alert]

Re: WHO Says It Appears to be Chicken Pox in Uganda - not Small Pox

Re: WHO Says It Appears to be Chicken Pox in Uganda - not Small Pox

And here is the second ProMED post.

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f..._BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,81919

Archive Number 20100325.0953
Published Date 25-MAR-2010
Subject PRO/EDR> Undiagnosed illness - Uganda: (Bukuda) chickenpox susp.


UNDIAGNOSED ILLNESS - UGANDA: (BUKUDA) CHICKENPOX SUSPECTED
***********************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

******
[1]
Date: Thu 25 Mar 2010
Source: The New York Times [edited]
<http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/03/25/world/international-uk-uganda-smallpox-who.html>


Reported Ugandan Smallpox Is Likely Chickenpox
----------------------------------------------
The World Health Organisation WHO) said on Thursday [25 Mar 2010] it
was investigating reports of suspected cases of the previously
eradicated disease smallpox in eastern Uganda. Smallpox is an acute
contagious disease and was one of the world's most feared sicknesses
until it was officially declared eradicated worldwide in 1979.

"WHO takes any report of smallpox seriously," Gregory Hartl, a
spokesman for the Geneva-based United Nations health agency, told
Reuters via email. "WHO is aware of the reports coming out of Uganda
and is taking all the necessary measures to investigate and verify."
He added that the WHO had received reports before of smallpox cases,
but they had turned out to be false alarms. "In the past, these cases
have always turned out not to be smallpox and were, usually, either
chickenpox or monkeypox cases," he said, stressing that these reports
were of suspected cases of the disease.

Smallpox was eradicated by a collaborative global vaccination
programme led by the World Health Organisation. The last known
natural case was in Somalia in 1977. Since then, the only known cases
were caused by a laboratory accident in 1978 in Birmingham, England,
which killed one person and caused a limited outbreak.

[Byline: Kate Kelland]

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

******
[2]
Date: Thu 25 Mar 2010
Source: Reuters, Africa [edited]
<http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE62O06320100325>


Reported Ugandan smallpox is likely chickenpox
----------------------------------------------
Suspected cases of the previously eradicated disease smallpox in
eastern Uganda appear to be chickenpox and not the acute contagious
disease, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday [25 Mar 2010].

"It appears that the supposed cases of smallpox are actually cases of
chickenpox, and that they have occurred over the past 3 weeks -- this
is not an acute event," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said in a
statement. "WHO has communicated this latest information to its member states."

The WHO said earlier on Thursday [25 Mar 2010] it was investigating
reports of suspected cases of smallpox in eastern Uganda. Smallpox
can sometimes be confused with chickenpox, a worldwide infection of
children that is very rarely dangerous.

Smallpox kills around 30 percent of its victims and was one of the
world's most feared sicknesses until it was officially declared
eradicated worldwide in 1979. Chickenpox produces much more
superficial lesions which tend to appear more on the trunk than the
face or hands.

--
Communicated by:
Patricia A. Doyle DVM PhD
Tropical Agricultural Economics
Univ of West Indies
<dr_p_doyle@hotmail.com>

[Chickenpox is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by
varicella-zoster virus (human herpesvirus 3). It usually affects
children, is spread by direct contact or respiratory route via
droplet nuclei, and is characterized by the appearance on the skin
and mucous membranes of successive crops of typical pruritic
vesicular lesions that are easily broken and become scabbed.
Chickenpox is relatively benign in children, but may be complicated
by pneumonia and encephalitis in adults. - Mod.CP]

[see also:
Undiagnosed illness, pox virus suspected - Uganda (Bukuda): RFI 20100324.0947]
...................cp/ejp/dk

 

[alert]

Re: WHO Says It Appears to be Chicken Pox in Uganda - not Small Pox

Re: WHO Says It Appears to be Chicken Pox in Uganda - not Small Pox

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/887080/-/wjuag0/-/

HomeNewsNational National

Government says no smallpox in Bududa

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By Tabu Butagira (email the author)


Posted Friday, March 26 2010 at 00:00

Kampala

The Ministry of Health yesterday said smallpox outbreak reported in eastern Uganda is a false alarm, stressing that cases under investigation in the region are likely to be chickenpox infections. ?In Bududa District IDP camps, they (health workers) have seen suspected cases of chickenpox,? Dr Kenya Mugisha, the acting director general of health services, said. ?We have sent our teams there to verify the cases but it?s not smallpox.?

The acutely infectious disease, that the World Health Organisation says by 1967 threatened 60 per cent of the world?s population and killed every fourth victim, was officially wiped out worldwide in December 1979 through mass vaccination.

Thus Wednesday?s announcement by the Uganda Red Cross Society, which is involved in health surveillance and humanitarian aid in Bududa, of an outbreak of smallpox immediately triggered international uproar. ?Four cases of smallpox have been reported at Bukigai Health Centre III and Bulucheke Health Centre II, which is feared to spread amongst children,? the humanitarian agency said in its statement signed by Senior Public Relations Officer Catherine Ntabadde.

Ms Kevin Nabutuwa, the agency?s regional programme officer for eastern Uganda, told this newspaper in a follow-up interview that the new infections were registered on Monday and Tuesday. However, Dr Mugisha said: ?This is wrong information. The cases there are chickenpox infections; an illness that causes skin rash, fever, running nose and body weakness - which is self-limiting.?


Apologies
Yesterday, URCS officials apologised over the ?misinformation? and acknowledged some ?mix up? in communicating about the epidemic. ?That was misinformation. There?s no smallpox here; it?s chickenpox,? Ms Nabutuwa said by phone from the neighbouring Mbale District. ?Three of the children have been discharged and have returned to Bulucheke IDP camp.?

If the Bududa cases were confirmed as smallpox, Uganda would be required to shut its borders, including grounding international flights. The scientist(s) correctly diagnosing the acute infection would pocket $50,000 (Shs105m), a longstanding bounty for anyone who ascertains re-occurrence of smallpox anywhere in the world.

Yesterday, Mr Ben Sensasi, the health promotion officer at WHO Uganda Country Office, said, ?I haven?t heard anything about outbreak of smallpox. ?People keep imagining the cases thinking they will get $50,000 bounty,? he said, ?I don?t think it?s smallpox, it can?t be.? Information from the WHO website indicates chickenpox patients present with fever, malaise, headache, prostration, severe back pain and, less often, abdominal pain and vomiting ? similar to smallpox warning signs.


Ministry statement
In a statement yesterday, MoH said the first case of chickenpox affecting a two-and-half-year-old child in Bulucheke IDP camp was registered on March 15 and the last one on March 21. ?The Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation would like to re-assure the general public that there is no outbreak of smallpox in Uganda,? the statement read in part.

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Red Cross Officials Confirm Chicken Pox Outbreak in Uganda - not Small Pox

"...Apologies

Yesterday, URCS officials apologised over the ?misinformation? and acknowledged some ?mix up? in communicating about the epidemic. ?That was misinformation. There?s no smallpox here; it?s chickenpox,? Ms Nabutuwa said by phone from the neighbouring Mbale District."