Anthrax patients escape from health centre

Three Anthrax patients have escaped from Kolir Health Centre III in Bukedea District where they had been admitted for monitoring and treatment.

Last week, health authorities in the district confirmed an outbreak of Anthrax in Aminit Sub-county where three people were admitted for close monitoring and treatment at Kolir Health Centre III.

In an interview with Daily Monitor on Wednesday, Mr Moses Oluka, the officer-in-charge at the facility, said the patients escaped on Tuesday morning.

“We were supposed to isolate them. We told them to sit aside as we prepared ourselves, (put on our protective gear). When we went back to check on them, we found that they had escaped,” he said. 

Anthrax is a serious infectious disease caused by gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria known as Bacillus Anthracis.

It occurs naturally in soil and commonly affects domestic and wild animals. People can get the disease if they come in contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products.

The symptoms of the disease include a raised, itchy bump that looks like an insect bite that quickly develops into a painless sore with a black centre, swelling in the sore and nearby lymph glands, and sometimes, flu-like symptoms including fever and headache.

Dr Emmanuel Odeke, the Bukedea District health officer, said his office is doing all it takes to contain the spread of the disease.

Sensitisation

He urged local leaders to step up community sensitisation to curb its spread.

“The current victims are said to have contracted the disease while skinning a cow which died of the disease. It requires a lot of sensitisation and a lot of community engagement. That is the biggest challenge about the disease, otherwise, it is not supposed to be very complicated if managed well,” he said.

Mr William Wilberforce Tukei, the Bukedea Resident District Commissioner (RDC), urged the community to be vigilant and mindful of their lives.

“Currently Bukedea is under quarantine. My warning to the people, let’s stop the habit of eating borrowed meat from other districts,” he said.

He added that his office is going to deploy a team of vigilantes to ensure that the victims who disappeared from the health facility are rounded up.