No viral hemorrhagic fever in Hoima - Gov't

By John Agaba

The Government has refuted reports that there is an outbreak of a viral hemorrhagic fever in the western district of Hoima clarifying that it’s dysentery.

The media has been awash with reports of an outbreak of the deadly fever in the western district, with some local radio stations reporting cases were on the rise, developments that were starting to cause panic especially among communities surrounding the district.

Dr. Anthony Mbonye, the commissioner for community health, ministry of health, however, refuted the claims.  

“The Ministry of Health informs the public that the cases referred to are dysentery,” said Mbonye in a statement.

He said samples taken from two patients in the community were tested at the Central Public Health laboratories (CPHL) and did not show any signs of a viral hemorrhagic fever.  

He said the disease, which was largely a hygiene problem, occurred among the Bakiga immigrants from Kabale district who settled in the area.

“Kiyora has a poor access to clean water and has generally got poor sanitation practices and poor health seeking behavior.|

As a result, a number of immigrants developed poor sanitation related diseases with some of them dying,” he said.

He, however, added that the Hoima district health team has dispatched a team to the affected area of Bugambe sub-county to sensitize the people on good hygiene practices as a preventive measure.

The district has also intensified its surveillance and monitoring to track any upcoming cases. He said no deaths had so far been reported.