Suspected Ebola patient isolated at Kabale hospital

Sr Akrut said that Kabale hospital is well-equipped with the necessary equipment to handle Ebola or Rift Valley and it’s up to the health workers to observe maximum precaution while handling patients. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • Sr Akrut said that the lodge owners where the suspected Ebola patient stayed before he was taken to Kabale hospital should report to the hospital for case management in case the results are positive for the Ebola fever, that has claimed dozens of people in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Health workers and patients at Kabale Regional Referral Hospital were on Tuesday morning alarmed after one of the patients admitted, started presenting what looked like signs and symptoms of Ebola. The hospital administration transferred him from the medical ward to an isolation unit in the same hospital.

The principal nursing officer at Kabale regional referral hospital, Sr Christine Akurut, on Wednesday said that blood samples from the 28-year-old male patient have been taken to the Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe.

“The patient was admitted on Tuesday morning and when he presented signs and symptoms of either Ebola or the Rift Valley fever, we immediately transferred him to the hospital isolation unit as we wait for the results from the Uganda Virus Research Institute,” Sr Akurut said.
Sr Akrut also said that the suspected Ebola patient told the health workers that he participated in the burial of his close friend who died of Rift Valley fever in Mbarara District.

The suspected Ebola patient also told health workers that he comes from Mitooma District and is a vendor of general merchandise; he moves from town to town looking for customers and uses lodges for accommodation.

Sr Akrut said that the lodge owners where the suspected Ebola patient stayed before he was taken to Kabale hospital should report to the hospital for case management in case the results are positive for the Ebola fever, that has claimed dozens of people in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

“For now the hospital is well-equipped with the necessary equipment to handle Ebola or Rift Valley and it’s up to the health workers to observe maximum precaution while handling patients,” Sr Akurut said.