Stay on alent Ebola kills two, confirmed in Kampala

 LUWEERO/Kampala

Two people have died following an Ebola outbreak in Luweero, the district medical officer confirmed yesterday.

Tests carried out on the victims confirmed that they had succumbed after contracting the Ebola Sudan strain virus at Sambwe Parish in Nyimbwa Sub-county.

Test results for two samples of whole blood sent to the Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL) in Kampala and the Uganda Virus Research Institute Laboratory confirmed an outbreak of the deadly virus, the second epidemic in the country this year.

The first one claimed 11 lives. “I got confirmation from the Ministry of Health that the test results of the blood samples sent to the CPHL in Kampala are for the Ebola Sudan strain. The results are for Rehema Najjemba, who died on November 12, and Gladys Namakula, who was admitted to Nyimbwa Health Centre IV and died on November 10. The health team did not take any sample from the third person from the same family who died on November 7. We are now tracing all the persons who could have come into contact with the deceased in these areas,” Dr Joseph Okware, the Luweero District Health Officer, told the Daily Monitor on Wednesday.

However, the Health ministry Permanent Secretary, Dr Asuman Lukwago, said in a telephone interview in Kampala, that they were treating the reported outbreak as an extension of the haemorrhagic fevers that could have been caused by either Ebola from Kibaale or Marburg from Kabale, Ibanda and Kabalore districts that have been under surveillance following recent outbreaks. He also urged the public to remain vigilant and report to the health authorities any suspicious diseases.

How it all began
According to the Luweero District Health Department the victims were admitted to Nyimbwa Health Centre IV on November 7. The two both complained of headaches, fever, vomiting and general body weakness.

A relative of the two, identified only as Kabugo, died in October, after exhibiting similar signs and symptoms. The two had attended to him before he died. Twenty-five-year-old Rehema Najjemba started bleeding from the nose on November 7, and this continued until she died on November 10.

The district health team, with support from Bombo General Military Hospital, supervised the burial at Kakute LCI for the two victims, according to Dr Okware.

Two patients, who had contact with the dead women, are admitted to Bombo General Military Hospital. However, information from the hospital indicated that their conditions had by yesterday deteriorated.

One of the patients had reportedly insisted on going to the burial of one of the victims, Luweero health officials said. Health teams in Luweero were still grappling with how to identify the people who may have come into contact with the victims and considering establishing an isolation centre within the district.

The family members of the dead women in Kakute village have been identified as the first contacts since the burial was professionally conducted.

Meanwhile, health response teams from Ministry of Health, the WHO, AFENET, Medicines Sans Frontiers French chapter and the Uganda Red Cross are already in Luweero District for surveillance and logistical support to help counter the spread of the Ebola Sudan outbreak.

The last Ebola outbreak in Luweero was in May last year, and claimed the life of a 12-year-old girl from Ngalonkalu village in Zirobwe Sub-county.