Namayingo leaders decry open defecation as cholera spreads

 Dr Mathias Mangeni, the assistant Namayingo District Health Officer, on Monday said: “We have had a cumulative number of 13 cholera cases since the outbreak, with 10 cases coming from Secho and Bumalagayi in Sigulu Sub-county, but the three current cases, which we have, are from Namavundu and Buhone in Bukana Sub-county.”

 Dr Mangeni said they are racing against time to stop further community infections.

 “We have poor health service delivery in Bukhooli Islands, while transport from one Island to another by water is a challenge and very expensive, that is why we are working hard to stop the further spread of the disease,” he added.

 Bukhooli Islands has 13 habitable islands, including Lolwe, Biisa and Hama, whose latrine coverage is below 10 per cent, and hand washing is below 5 per cent. In Sigulu and Bukana islands, the latrine coverage is below 34 per cent, while handwashing is at its lowest.

 “Most of the island residents continue to practice the culture of open defecation,” Dr Mangeni added.

 At Buduma Landing Site in Bukana Sub-county, more than 3,000 fishermen lack pit latrines and continue to use the contaminated lake water for drinking.

 Mr Umar Lwanga, a resident at the landing site, says whereas the district promised to construct a pit latrine about five years ago, that has not happened and as a result, they were practising open defecation.

According to Dr Mangeni, the cumulative number of cholera cases treated at Bukana Health Centre III, where an isolation ward has been established, stands at 13. Ten, he said, have been treated and discharged, while three remain admitted.  Dr Mangeni said the patients are being transported from Bumalenge in Sigulu Islands to Bukana Islands where an isolation ward has been established.

 “Bumalenge has a health centre II but lacks capacity to manage the cases. We have a standby Ministry of Health boat donated under Gavi, which is evacuating the cholera cases,” Dr Mangeni said.

 He, however, noted that normal patients were sharing the same building with cholera patients, which put the former at risk of contracting the disease.

 From the onset, Dr Mangeni said the district lacked intravenous fluids, antibiotics, gloves, oral rehydration salts and jik but they have since received supplies from partners such as Unicef and Doctors without Borders.

 Dr Mangeni said Unicef has provided tents to help in the isolation of cholera patients, a few boxes of gloves and aqua tablets, which are being distributed by Village Health Teams (VHTs).

 Mr Andrew Bwire, one of the VHTs, said they have deployed health teams both in Sigulu and Bukana and along the lake shore areas to carry out risk assessment and educate the residents on risk factors, while advising them to wash hands, eat hot food, drink boiled or treated water and ensure they have pit latrines for safe disposal of fecal matter.

 Mr Humphrey Opio, the officer-in-charge of Bukana Health Center III, said they are using intravenous fluids, oral rehydration salts and antibiotics to treat the patients.

Dr Douglas Kizito Makanga, a senior medical officer for emergency response at the Ministry of Health, said their aim was to stop the further spread of the disease in the Islands, and are building the capacity of the health workers to be able to handle the cases.

Background

The country is currently an upsurge in cholera cases. In Kayunga District, so far eight people have died of the disease while scores are admitted to various health facilities. All the deaths have been registered in Busaana Sub-county which has a low pit latrine coverage of below 50 per cent.

[email protected]