Naguru Hospital Death was Congo Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever not Ebola, Govt Clarifies

Government has refuted reports that have been making rounds on social media claiming that a person in Uganda had died of Ebola.

In a statement issued by the Minister for Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, she said that the death registered at Naguru hospital in Kampala was as a result of the Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, not Ebola.

The 32-year-old female died at the hospital this week.

According to the Minister, the results from investigations conductedbon the blood samples sent to Ugada Virus Research Institute (UVRI) confirmed Congo Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever not Ebola virus disease.

The deceased is said to have first presented with disease signs on August 19 and first sought treatment at St Agnes Clinic in Bukerere, Mukono before being referred to Naguru hospital.

The Ministry of Health has already dispatched a medical teak that will accord the deceased a safe burial in Mukono. The Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) had sent a rapid response team to conduct surveillance and contact taracing in the deceased’s home district of Sembabule and in Mukono where she has been staying.

The speculation of Ebola in Uganda come at a time when neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo is grappling with a fresh outbreak of Ebola in North Kivu province which borders with Uganda.

The Congo Crimean Hemorrhagic virus causes severe viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) outbreaks in humans and its outbreaks can cause death to about 40% of the people who get the infection.

It is transmitted to people from ticks and wild and domestic animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission, through contact with blood, other body secretions or tissues of infected humans or animals and there is no vaccine available for either people or animals.

Some of the common signs of the deadly disease include sudden on-set of high fever, headache, back pain, joint pain, abdominal pain, dizziness (feeling that you are losing your balance and about to fall), neck pain and stiffness.

In addition, the person can also have nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, sore throat, sharp mood swings, confusion, bleeding, bruising or a rash and after 2 or 4 days, the patient may experience sleeplessness and depression.

To prevent the disease, a person should check him/herself for ticks after working with animals and remove them immediately and if animals are infested with ticks, he/she should spray them using a recommended acaricide to kill the ticks.

The Ministry of Health has cautioned the public to consume cooked meat and boiled milk as well as for handlers of these products to use personal protective gear.