Bundibugyo Hospital matron Peluce Tabiita admitted in the same hospital after she was suspected to have contracted Ebola, which is ravaging the western region

By Vision Reporters

THE number of suspected Ebola infections has increased from 62 to 84, according to the Ministry of Health.
Of these, 18 have died. This does not include the two deaths in Kabarole and Mbarara, where Ebola had not been confirmed.

It is also not clear if the number includes Maipeni Muliwabyo, a prominent businessman who succumbed to the disease on Monday night at Bundibugyo Hospital.

Briefing the press at the Media Centre yesterday, state minister for health Dr. Emmanuel Otaala said only nine cases had been confirmed to be Ebola. Of the remaining 75 cases, 74 are in Bundibugyo while one is at Mulago Hospital. The patient at Mulago is a doctor from Bundibugyo who was immediately put in isolation.

The minister explained that the porous nature of the Uganda-Congolese border was complicating the control of the epidemic, as people at the other side could not be reached for sensitisation.
He warned the public against the exchange of body fluids, including sex. “If you are a suspect or you have been in contact with an infected person, refrain from sexual intercourse because contact with vaginal fluids and semen can cause infection.”

Other precautionary measures, he said, included avoiding handshakes, using soap and jik to wash hands after contact with a suspected victim, burying the dead immediately and avoiding food at funerals.

Otaala explained that the ministry took long to announce the disease, which first struck in August, because the initial tests done by the Centres for Disease Control in Atlanta, US, turned out to be negative.
Five blood samples were sent first, which tested negative. Another 20 samples were sent later, eight of which were found positive for Ebola. He said the confirmation was received on November 29 and the ministry immediately made it public.

He dismissed claims that the Government and the development partners had concealed the information so that CHOGM could take place. He said it was inconceivable that the US and the donors would have conspired with Uganda to keep silent about the Ebola outbreak.

During the press briefing, Dr. Sam Zaramba said people’s movements in the affected districts would not be restricted. The ministry had set up monitoring teams to follow up reports of suspects, he added. They were also working with UTODA to avoid overcrowding in public passenger vehicles.

UNICEF has donated emergency supplies worth sh860m to deal with the epidemic. They include emergency kits for 10,000 persons for three months at isolation centres.

According to UNICEF resident representative, Keith McKenzie, his organisation has given another sh230m to Bundibugyo district, sh49m of which will be used as incentives to the staff handling the victims. Later in the afternoon, Otaala briefed Parliament about the Ebola outbreak.

He said his ministry urgently needed sh6b to handle the epidemic. The MPs asked the Government to find the funds urgently, adding that health workers and other volunteers may run away from the affected areas.

Independent MP Johnson Malinga suggested that Parliament should approve the Ebola budget with the urgency it approved the CHOGM budget.
Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi informed Parliament that he and the Minister of Health met with President Yoweri Museveni over the epidemic to look for solutions.

Ruth Nankabirwa, state minister for defence, said the army had deployed UPDF health workers and health educators to help in the management of Ebola.

Meanwhile, the Canadian consulate has warned its citizens against travelling to Bundibugyo. “Be aware of this potentially fatal disease,” the consulate wrote in an email. “Travel to the district should be avoided until the medical authorities confirm that it is safe so to do.”

Symptoms to look for, it cautioned, were very high fever, diarrhoea and vomiting associated with red eyes and a measles-like rash.

Anne Mugisa, Cyprian Musoke, John Odyek, Conan Businge and John Thawite