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Uganda on high alert as mpox kills 35 in Congo
Jean Kakuru Biyambo, 48, a father of six from the Muja internally displaced persons camp, gestures outside his room at the Goma general hospital where he has been receiving treatment against Mpox - an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus that spark-off a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever; following Mpox cases in Nyiragongo territory, in Goma, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo July 16, 2024. PHOTO/REUTERS
What you need to know:
- Persons who bear symptoms are advised to self-isolate until tests and treatment are made and a new layer of skin has formed underneath.
- Uganda has applied for vaccines, currently only being manufactured by two countries.
- Dr Kyabayinze said no special budget has been allocated to the response so far.
Absence of vaccines, shortage of testing kits, among other gaps, threaten to hamstrung Uganda’s preparations to counter the mpox outbreak, even as the Ministry of Health yesterday moved to allay fears of a possible flare up as the disease ravages the neighbouring DR Congo.
Dr Daniel Kyabayinze, the director of public health at the Ministry of Health, yesterday said the country started preparations to respond to a possible outbreak two years ago when the outbreak was declared in the DR Congo.
The East African newspaper reported on Wednesday that the disease had been reported in almost every corner of the DR Congo, making Uganda’s neighbour to the west, the epicentre of the outbreak.
The epidemiological report presented by the DR Congo’s minister for Public Health, Dr Roger Kamba, shows “1,372 new suspected cases, 206 confirmed cases and 35 deaths, bringing the total number of deaths to 610 since the start of the year.”
The number of deaths is already higher than in 2023, when 600 people died from the disease.
The World Health Organisation, however, raised the red flag when it declared the outbreak a public health emergency earlier this month.
This is the highest level of global alert, and the decision recognises the potential threat this virus poses to countries around the world. The declaration focuses international attention on acute public health risks that require coordinated mobilisation of extraordinary resources by the international community for prevention and response.
The new strain of the disease, Clade I, raving Uganda’s neighbour to the west has been registered in Uganda, and 115 other countries, raising concern among some circles.
Dr Kyabayinze yesterday expressed confidence in the preparations made, saying they are not worried.
“We know that our borders are nearly imaginary, people move so we have been in preparations for the last two years. As soon as we discovered the first cases, a National Taskforce was instituted, and we have incident management teams already in response mode. Even districts have task forces,” he said.
“We have had the disease for years, but now we have got a new strain which is spreading faster. There has been a mutation, and what is concerning is this disease has gone to other countries, including Uganda, for the first time,” Dr Kyabayinze added.
He further revealed that Ugandans index cases were from the Congo, two pregnant females, who crossed the border for medical care and have since recovered. Uganda has so far registered five cases, with only three active ones and no fatalities.
While older strains were predominantly spread sexually, the new strain is said to be spreading through contact, making it more difficult to contain. The National Taskforce convenes every two days to keep abreast with the situations. Sensitisation, he says, is key in combating the disease, in addition to other methods tested and known to address diseases spread through contact and sexual intercourse.
Dr Daniel Okello, the director of public health and environment at KCCA, said Kampala, a transitory city and a high risk area, has a an incident task team in place.
But there are challenges that call for extra causation.
“There are people who are vulnerable. If your immunity is low and you catch diseases, we are likely to lose you. For children below 15 years, their immunity is not as developed.
“The vaccines are not here and that is a gap if the disease spreads . It will also require money to try and educate everybody, put up surveillance systems, that is why we are concerned,” he said.
The ministry is also short of testing kits. “We don’t have test kits to roll out to every facility at the moment and we have set up a mobile hub in Kasese and depend on the National library and UVRI to do confirmatory tests. Samples are brought to Butabika and Entebbe,” he added.
Uganda has applied for vaccines, currently only being manufactured by two countries.
Dr Kyabayinze said no special budget has been allocated to the response so far.
“We have resources within the system not specific to MPox. But special interventions will require special financing. Some resources available are coming from partners,” he said.
Scientists have expressed concern about the rapidly mutating and spreading strain. The disease presents flu-like symptoms and pus filled lesions.
Prevention
WHO has laid down preventive standard operating procedures like avoiding close contact with anyone who has mpox, including sexual contact washing hands frequently with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub. WHO also urges avoiding unprotected contact, with wild animals, especially those that are sick or dead, including their meat and blood. Any food containing animal parts or meat should be cooked thoroughly before eating.
