Health ministry refutes reports of Crimean fever outbreak in Nakaseke
The Permanent Secretary MOH Dr Diana Atwine. She said blood samples from the child’s body were taken to the Uganda Virus Research Institute to verify and report back on the case. File photo
KAMPALA. Ministry of Health has dismissed claims of an outbreak of Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) disease in the central district of Nakaseke as earlier reported by the district authorities.
Ms Diana Atwine, the permanent secretary, Ministry of Health insisted that the public should ignore the announcement of the outbreak of the epidemic as it is ‘false’.
“The ministry has all the mechanism to detect any disease and contain it. The members of the affected families have been tested and none of them has the disease as reported,” Dr Atwine told Journalists at a press conference held at the Ministry Headquarters on Friday.
The district authorities reported on Thursday that another person is currently isolated at the Kiwoko Hospital after his samples sent to Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) tested positive in December 2017.
Dr Atwine asked the Nakaseke District authorities not to alarm and threaten the public because the ministry of health has procedures of announcing an epidemic.
“The one who announced was wrong. There is no Congo fever in Uganda and we apologize for the misinformation,” she said.
However, Mr Ignatius Kiwanuka Koomu, the Nakaseke District LC5 Chairperson, still insists that they have documents from UVRI confirming the heamorrhagic fever. He said the ministry officials could be having personal interests by concealing the outbreak.
“You visit the hospital [Kiwoko] and they will tell you the truth. We responded in regard to what happened in July and August when the last out- break occurred because up to now, the hospital staff who handled the patients have not been paid so we don’t know what will happen this time,” Mr Ignatius told this reporter on phone.
However, our efforts to reach, Mr Peter Serwadda, the Kiwoko Hospital clinical director, were futile as our repeated phone calls went unanswered
The Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is an infectious viral disease primarily transmitted to people from ticks and livestock animals and human-to-human during close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected persons.
