Nodding Syndrome conference opens
Jul 29, 2015
An international Scientific Conference on the Nodding Disease Syndrome on Tuesday opens at Bomah Hotel in Gulu
By Dennis Ojwee
GULU - An international Scientific Conference on the Nodding Disease Syndrome on Tuesday opened at Bomah Hotel in Gulu municipality with profile presentations from doctors and professors from across the world and Universities on Nodding Syndrome (NS).
Over 56 international and local scientific experts are in Gulu to share various levels of researches they have so far carried out towards the fight of the mysterious Nodding Syndrome (NS) that is persistent in Acholi land, Northern Uganda in particular.
The Two-day conference is focusing on the various scientific studies and expertise researches already made and being made to get to bottom of what could be the exact course or courses of the Nodding Syndrome.
High profile scientific research papers have been presented among others by Dr. Peter S. Spencer, a pathologist professor from the Oregon Health and Science University, Global Health Center in USA, Prof. Dr. Suzanne Gasda, from the USA presented a scientific research paper carried that gives distinctive difference between epilepsy and the NS.
Most of the Experts are from Europe, USA, Gabon, Central African Republic DR-Congo, South Sudan and Uganda. The Conference is organized by Gulu University faculty of Medical and funded by Hope For Humans that gets funding for its project from the USA. The Invisible Children-Uganda has been playing a big role in lobbing for the findings from the USA.
She said Epilepsy affects over 65 million people in the world. She said if diagnosed at its early stage, epilepsy can be successfully treated. She said the World Health Organisation (WHO) puts that between 65-85% affects children that fall between the ages of 9-12, and cab treated successfully right from the young age.
Among other science experts who made presentations on the first day yesterday, on Tuesday included Dr. Vielen Dank who said Nodding Syndrome remains a challenge for the scientist researchers globally to do more and come to a conclusive result.
Dank supplemented that NS is neurological disorder in the brain which is not quite epileptic in nature.
The Country Director, of Hope for Humans, Collin Angwec working tirelessly with her health team in trying to manage the syndrome in the affected children in the infected children in five districts in Acholi land, northern Uganda said the team has a grassroots intervention network that monitor and provide necessary medical interventions to the infected children.
Prof. Dr. David Lagoro-Kitara said about 7, 000 children in the five districts affected with the NS are being rehabilitated with the help of government and donor interventions.
“The good news about the children who had been crippled down with the NS is that, mosr of them can now sit, walk without supporting themselves, dance, play about, learn new things and can even provide little training to their colleagues. These are very big changes and developments we have seen in the children”, said Dr. Lgoro-Kitara.
He said the syndrome had so far claimed about 200 lives of children in Uganda since it broke out in 1998 with a peak in 2008 from Tuma-Ngur- Ocama in Kitum.
Dr. Kitara said Pader district was heaviest affected district followed by Kitgum, Gulu, Lamwo and Amuru respectively, all in Acholi land. He said the syndrome also spilt to a small part of Lira in Lango sub-region.
The conference ended today with more presentations and a wrap up of scientific research findings on the latest findings on the Nodding Syndrome.