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Hope as Mulago reports drop in flu, cough cases
Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala. Doctors at the facility say despite the decrease in flu and cough cases, the facility is still overwhelmed because the rate of admission is higher than that of discharge. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
- About two weeks ago, the management of the national referral hospital was considering expansion of the children’s ward due to a spike in the conditions.
The management of Mulago hospital has said there is a decline in the number of children with symptoms of respiratory illnesses such as cough and flu, who need admission.
About two weeks ago, the management of the national referral hospital told this newspaper they were considering expansion of the children’s ward in case the number of sick children who need admission continues to increase.
But speaking to this publication yesterday, Dr Hellen Aanyu, a paediatrician at the facility, who spoke on behalf of the management, said the number of children with the above conditions and in need of admission, has reduced by almost a half.
This reporter couldn’t determine what is happening in other hospitals across the country as the Ministry of Health is expected to address the media on the situation in Kampala today.
But many hospitals said two weeks ago, they were overwhelmed and some children were sleeping on the floor for lack of space.
Not yet over
Dr Aanyu, however, said the facility is still overwhelmed because the rate of admission is higher than that of discharge.
“The ward which admits the respiratory cases is full and the emergency unit is also full because we cannot shift all the cases to the [main] ward. We [only] admit those who need to be admitted,” she said.
Doctors who talked to this newspaper on condition of anonymity said the workload has increased because of the spike in flu and cough.
One of the doctors in the outpatient department said they are advising some parents to seek admission and treatment in nearby public facilities to decongest Mulago.
“We don’t want the children to sleep on the floor because it exacerbates pneumonia, which some of the sick children have. About 80 percent of the cases we see here are respiratory diseases,” the doctor said.
The revelation raises questions on whether the cases are declining in the population or the hospital is admitting less.
Dr Aanyu said they suspect it is a viral infection, but it is usually followed by bacterial infection “so the exact cause is not yet identified.”
“We recommend that when the child falls sick, they should seek medical care and be patient. Sometimes the parents panic a lot and they keep moving from one health unit to another and they get a lot of medication [which may not be necessary],” she said.
“If it is a viral infection, it is always self-limiting. And we just relieve the symptom –if it is fever, we use paracetamol to soothe the throat with honey and lemon. It usually doesn’t require these high-end antibiotics. Parents shouldn’t panic,” she added.
The Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) influenza monitoring unit has not yet released its findings, but the Ministry of Health is expected to address the media on the issue of respiratory diseases where the exact cause of the spike in infections will be explained.
READ: Why children seem less affected by Covid-19
But besides flu and cough, the children are also presenting with fevers, and in some cases vomiting, according to Dr Daniel Tumwine of The Children’s Clinic Naalya, Kampala.
“Many of those who got very ill were wheezing, and some had signs of severe pneumonia. Signs of severe pneumonia include fast breathing, difficulty in breathing, and tiredness. Almost all had a fever, and on checking, they would either have a sore throat, inflamed eardrums, or both,” Dr Tumwine said.
Pneumonia is the second leading cause of death in the country after malaria, according to the health sector performance reports for 2019/2020, and the one for 2020/2021.
Up to 2,944 hospital deaths in 2021 and 3,350 hospital deaths in 2020 were due to pneumonia.
Dr Charles Olaro, the director of clinical services at the Health ministry, said their preliminary findings indicate that the respiratory disease in children is not being driven by Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
He said the infection is driven by influenza virus but that UVRI is yet to come up with the final report on this.
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