Arua’s suspected Ebola case tests negative
Doctors treating Ebola patients. COURTESY PHOTO
What you need to know:
- The boy was buried on Wednesday at the home of his relatives in Arua with the support of medical personnel from Arua Regional Referral hospital.
- Dr Aniku noted that there has been an alert of Haemorrhagic fever from DRC.
The blood samples from a 10 year-old boy who died of a Haemorrhagic fever that presented signs of Ebola has been confirmed negative.
The suspected outbreak had caused panic at Arua Regional Referral hospital on Wednesday, April 25 after the boy, who was admitted from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), died after presenting Ebola-like symptoms of high fever and vomiting blood.
The Acting Director for Arua Regional Referral hospital, Dr Gilbert Aniku, said that there should be no anxiety about the health condition. “He was referred here from Ediofe Health Center and was tested negative of malaria. Indeed, he vomited blood but it was because of shock. But being at the border, there was possible alert of Haemorrhagic fever because even one case is classified as epidemic,” he said.
The boy was buried on Wednesday at the home of his relatives in Arua with the support of medical personnel from Arua Regional Referral hospital.
Dr Aniku noted that there has been an alert of Haemorrhagic fever from DRC.
“We sent the blood samples to Uganda Virus Research Institute and the result which we received this morning, showed that the Haemorrhagic virus fever of Ebola, Marburg and Rift Valley fever was negative,” he said.
Although these were preliminary results, Dr Aniku said that investigations into the alleged outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever will continue.
Viral Haemorrhagic fever presents body aches, vomiting, bleeding from under the skin, eyes and in advanced stages, presents bleeding from any opening.
