One dead, 15 hospitalised as cholera strikes Mbale

One person has been confirmed dead and more than 15 others hospitalised following an outbreak of cholera in Mbale District.

Dr Moses Odong, the principle medical officer in charge of health in Mbale municipal council, said on Saturday, that they have recorded one death related to the disease since the outbreak last week in Mbale municipality.
“It’s true one person has died and 15 other are undergoing medication,” he said, adding that the patients are admitted at an isolated ward set up at Namatala health IV.

Mr Odongo attributed the cholera outbreak to the lack of pit latrines in homes due to heavy rains, which washed away toilets and some sanitation facilities within the town area.
“The poor sanitation is one of the causes of cholera outbreak because most of the pit latrines/latrines were destroyed and the people have been relieving themselves in open places,” he said.
He added that they have instituted a health team to carry out house-to-house massive sensitisation on hygiene and sanitation.

The assistant district health officer Ms Kevin Acon, however, said more cases have been reported in neighbouring sub counties of Namakwekwe, Namanyonyi and Bukasakya.
“We have an outbreak of cholera in the district but we are working to contain it,” she said, adding that Village Health Teams and village chairpersons have been urged to sensitise locals on the outbreak.

Dr George Walambe, the In-Charge, Namatala health IV, said most of the admitted are children.
“Most of the infected are children but they all under stable condition,” he said.

Dr Walambe further advised residents to wash their hands with soap after visiting latrines, eat warm food and report any suspected case related to cholera early as possible to the health centres.
“We call upon people to be vigilant and report to health centres as early as possible instead of waiting for the situation to become worse in case they suspect its cholera,” he said.

Mr Mutwalibu zandya, the mayor Mbale municipality said the health officials carry out massive sensitization of people on hygiene especially in slum areas.
“Health officials should embark on massive sensitization before the disease spreads because people are drinking contaminated water due to ignorance,” he said.

Cholera is an infectious disease that causes severe watery diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration and even death if untreated. It is caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated with a bacterium called Vibrio cholera.