Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Mulago sets up swine flu isolation unit

Tuesday, 5th May, 2009
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By Anthony Bugembe

THE Health ministry has set up isolation units at Mulago and Entebbe hospitals to handle any suspicious cases of swine flu.

“We have equipped them with doctors who are trained to detect the virus. Fortunately, we have not registered any suspicious cases,” said Sam Zaramba, the Director of Medical Services.

The ministry has 1,000 doses of Tamiflu, the drug proven to be effective against the virus, which were earlier imported for bird flu. The World Health Organisation is helping Uganda to source for more medication.

The Uganda Virus Research Institute is receiving testing kits this week. In the meantime, the country is relying on kits that were stocked for bird flu.

President Yoweri Museveni on Monday inquired from his health ministers if the country was prepared to fight an eventual outbreak of the highly infectious virus.

Meeting the officials at State House Nakasero to discuss health issues, including the training of medical personnel, the President was told that both Mulago and Entebbe hospitals had the necessary equipment and drugs to test and treat swine flu.

Swine flu is contracted from contact with infected pigs and passed on from person-to-person through sneezing and coughing.

Symptoms in humans include fever, body weakness, appetite loss, cough and sore throat. If not managed, the illness can progress into severe pneumonia and death.

A total of 21 countries have now officially reported 1,239 confirmed cases of swine flu. Mexico, where the pandemic started, has 727 cases and 26 confirmed deaths, although more than 100 are suspected to have died from the infection.

The US has registered 286 cases and one death while Canada has registered 101 cases. Cases have also been confirmed in Hong Kong, Costa Rica, Colombia, El Salvador, Israel, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea.

In Europe, Spain tops the list with 57 cases, followed by UK 28, Germany 9, Italy 5 and France 4. Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland have registered one case each.

Last week, the national swine flu taskforce started screening all people entering Uganda to prevent the virus from getting into the country.

During the Monday meeting, Museveni directed the health ministry to come up with a master plan to guard against disease outbreaks “given that most diseases, such as bilharzia, sleeping sickness, river blindness and trachoma, are a result of ignorance”, a release from State House said.

According to the statement, the President further urged the health officials to take all steps necessary to eliminate Zindangire, the rampant blue flies, from the country’s urban areas.

Museveni noted that spraying against mosquitoes and flies would go a long way in improving the general health and hygiene of Ugandans, adding that existing swamps and rubbish dumping sites should also be covered.

The spraying, Museveni stressed, should be carried out in an environmentally friendly manner.

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