Ebola death toll hits 23

The death toll resulting from the Ebola Sudan strain in the country has reached 23, health officials have said.
Mr Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the senior communications officer, said the latest situation report as of yesterday indicated that the country has a cumulative 36 cases of Ebola, 18 of which are confirmed and the other 18 are probable.
“The deaths stand at 23, five confirmed and 18 probable; in the last 24 hours, we registered two new cases and two more deaths,” he said.

The Ebola taskforce officials in Mubende District, the epicentre of the outbreak, revealed that five out of the deaths have occurred at Mubende Regional Referral Hospital where they have set up an isolation centre, while the other cases were registered from the community.
Ms Rose Mary Byabasaija, the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) and head of the area Ebola taskforce, yesterday clarified to Daily Monitor in an interview that while the number of admissions at both the emergency and isolation facilities stands at 38, the confirmed cases are 16.
“One person, a 35-year-old female from Kyegegwa District, died at Mubende hospital, bringing the number of cases of those that have succumbed to Ebola at the hospital to five. The other 17 cases died from the community,” she said.

“It is unfortunate that we have a positive case among the seven people that escaped from the isolation facility at Mubende Hospital. We have now got clues that will possibly help us get the woman that escaped from the facility. Both the security and health surveillance teams are tracking down the escapees,” she added. The taskforce has also beefed up security at Mubende Hospital to ensure that all cases at both the emergency and isolation centres do not mix with the community.
“We have requested for extra deployment from police at the hospital,” the RDC said.
As part of the efforts to decongest the hospital, the Ebola taskforce has embarked on a campaign to sensitise the community on the need to allow only the emergency and referral cases at the health facility.

“It is true that Mubende hospital is meant for referral cases but we continue registering big numbers that come with ailments that are manageable at the lower facilities. Our campaign is to have the facility decongested and to partly ensure the safety of everybody visiting the hospital,” Ms Byabasaija said.
“The Ebola isolation facility has received more tents and beds. We now have about fifty beds in place,” Dr Edward Batiibwe, the hospital director, revealed..
While the taskforce had earlier reported the lack of training materials, including awareness campaign charts for display at public places, the taskforce yesterday confirmed that the materials had arrived in the district.
Public laxity
 Meanwhile, a spot check in  different public places such as markets in Mubende revealed laxity among the population in regard to the disease despite the ongoing government sensitisation through local radios and megaphones. On Mubende Main Street, most people had no face masks, while most shops did not have hand washing facilities.