Gut infection disease hits Kasese district

Apr 19, 2011

SEVEN people have died in Kasese district in the last three weeks following the re-occurrence of the gut perforation disease.

By Bernard Masereka

SEVEN people have died in Kasese district in the last three weeks following the re-occurrence of the gut perforation disease.

Steven Bagonza, the district health inspector, disclosed this in an interview with the New Vision in his office at the district headquarters in Rukoki.

Over 30 people died when the disease hit several areas in the district in 2009.

Bagonza said Maliba and Kitswamba sub-counties were hit hard by the infection.

“In March alone, we registered 30 people infected in Maliba and 15 in Kitswamba,” he said, adding that those who died sought medical attention when it was too late for them to respond to treatment.

Bagonza explained that the disease is a result of poorly managed typhoid. When a person is infected, he added, their intestines develop holes, leading to death.

He named Wilson Wakibanahi of Nyakabugha village and Vincent Masereka of Maliba II village in Maliba sub-county as some of the casualties.

Bagonza said district health teams had mounted operations to ensure hygiene in the most affected areas.

“We are beginning with the homes of local council leaders because they fail to enforce sanitation and hygiene in the communities. They do not have latrines themselves,” he said.

He threatened to compile a list of culprits and submit it to the magistrate for prosecution.

During a talk-show on the Kasese-based Guide Radio FM last week, Dr. Yusuf Baseka, the district health officer, said operating upon a patient with the disease was complicated and expensive.

“You will be operating upon someone whose feaces have spread all over the stomach,” he said.

Baseka challenged the people to improve sanitation and hygiene in their homes and ensure that they drink clean boiled water.

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