Health authorities in Kisoro have started Mpox screening at border points as a prevention measure.
Kisoro Assistant District Health Officer (DHO) Annet Dusabe told www.vomuhabura.com that the population of Kisoro is at risk of the contagious virus, thus the strict measures.
According to her, screening is ongoing at border points of Bunagana and Mupaka with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Cyanika with Rwanda.
She says ‘despite the virus having been detected in Uganda, in Kasese district, the two patients recovered and the contacts tested negative, that does not guarantee complacency. We thus have to take strong measures since the two neighbouring countries have reported more cases, and its worse in DRC.’
On 24 July 2024, the Uganda Virus Research Institute confirmed two cases of Mpox from six samples received from Bwera Hospital in Kasese District. No new cases that have been reported across the country.
At Bunagana border, our reporter found mandatory handwashing and checking body temperature for people moving from either side.
The screening exercise is undertaken by teams from Uganda Red Cross Society, health workers and security.
Audio messages calling for awareness of the disease and prevention measures like avoiding handshaking and having body to body contacts are also relayed through a mega-phone.
The messages are relayed in English, Swahili and Rufumbira – a local dialect.
Bunagana border was closed about two years ago when the M23 rebel outfit seized the Rutshuru territory of North Kivu in Eastern DRC.
But thousands of movements from either side are recorded, including small scale traders and refugees.
Individuals and business community commend the measures put in place to curb the spread of Mpox, reminiscing the gravity of Covid.
Majambere Charles, a trader, urges his fellow business community to have washing facilities at their premises.
“The teams have alerted us to avoid handshaking, and that’s very important since we are at the border. We have to follow the advice, or else we shall be victims like we suffered with Covid.” Said Majambere.
Public Health Emergency
On Aug 13, 2024, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) declared mpox a public health emergency of continental security (PHECS) in Africa, acting under its mandate to address significant public health threats.
The decision was driven by the worsening mpox situation on the continent: since 2022, 40,874 cases and 1,512 deaths have been reported across 15 AU member states. In 2024 alone, 17,541 cases and 517 deaths have been reported from 13 AU member states.
The Africa CDC says these figures represent a 160% and 19% increase in the number of cases and deaths, respectively, in 2024 compared with the same period in 2023. A 79% increase in the number of cases was observed in 2023 compared with 2022. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) accounts for 96% of all cases and 97% of all deaths reported in 2024.
Investigations in the DRC suggest that heterosexual transmission, especially among female sex workers (9%), is driving the outbreak,
Mpox (monkeypox) is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever. Most people fully recover, but some get very sick.
Health experts say anyone can get mpox. It spreads from contact with infected persons, through touch, kissing, or sex. The viral disease can also spread through animals, when hunting, skinning, or cooking them, or from materials, such as contaminated sheets, clothes or needles.
Pregnant mothers may also pass the virus on to their unborn babies.
Africa’s top public health agency says the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other countries on the continent could start vaccinating against mpox within days.
The DRC is the epicentre of a more deadly strain of the virus that emerged last year and has subsequently spread to some 12 other African states, with confirmed cases in at least 3 countries outside the continent.
Last week, the World Health Organization declared the spread of the new strain a public health emergency of international concern.
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