Panic as Wakiso Mpox cases hit eight
Ministry of Health's Kampala Metropolitan Public Health Emergency Operations Centre manager Brian Odaga speaks during a meeting with the Wakiso District Mpox taskforce on September 26, 2024. PHOTO/NOELINE NABUKENYA
What you need to know:
- Authorities are urging caution and a return to SOPs to curb the spread of Mpox.
Panic has engulfed leaders of Wakiso District as Mpox cases increased to eight, after two new cases were confirmed by an official from the Ministry of Health (MoH) on Thursday, authorities have said.
Kampala Metropolitan Public Health Emergency Operations Centre manager Brian Odaga said the seven confirmed cases are from Kyengera, Wakiso, Nansana and Makindye-Ssabagabo.
The eighth case is from Kira- of a Ugandan who travelled to Kenya and tested positive for Mpox disease.
According to Odaga, the two new Mpox cases are of a 17-year-old male from Wakiso Health Centre IV and a 30-year-old from Kyengera HC II.
Other cases were from Matugga and Kanaaba in Ndejje Division.
“These include a taxi driver, painter, and a fruit seller from Matugga,” he said, adding that looking at the nature of the patients, suspected contacts are expected to be commercial sex workers,” he explained.
Odaga said out of the eight Mpox patients, four are HIV positive, an indicator that the virus is more predominant amongst persons with low immunity.
“Let’s reactivate Covid-19 standard operating procedures like frequent washing of hands with soap, sanitise, keep social distance and avoid body contact,” Odaga said.
Dr Emmanuel Mukisa, the Wakiso District Health Officer (DHO), said they have identified a holding centre where patients will be isolated before being evacuated to Entebbe Referral Hospital for treatment.
However, he raised concerns over delays by Uganda Research Virus Institute (URI) to release results from the samples taken from suspects.
“They take a long time to give us the results and yet these suspects are not kept in isolation during the seven days before they return the results from the samples,” Dr Mukisa highlighted.
Further, he revealed that they received a strange case of a person who was bleeding from various orifices on Wednesday and samples were drawn from the deceased’s body with results pending.
Justine Mbabazi, the Wakiso District [Mpox] Task Force chairperson, encouraged masses to follow guidelines provided by government as they wait for vaccines from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Uganda declared the outbreak of Mpox on August 02, 2024.
Currently, Kampala Metropolitan has 61 Mpox contacts, of which 20 have completed their follow up for the 21 days. Authorities are currently following up on 41 contacts.
The escalating Mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other parts of Africa was declared by WHO as a public health emergency of international concern on August 14, 2024.
About 30,000 suspected cases and more than 800 deaths have been reported across the 15 countries in the WHO African Region.
