#Marburg Virus: 6th Relative Gets Admitted to Private Clinic in Kisugu, Kampala

October 22, 2012
By  Mirembe Martina

A woman from Kabale was admitted at Mulago hospital yesterday after receiving treatment for malaria but was actually suffering from the Marburg disease which recently hit the country.  It is said that before going to Mulago, Sharon Twinomujuni first got treatment from a private clinic in Kisugu, Kampala. Twinomujuni is related to the family of five who were first killed in Kabale as the first victims of the Marburg virus. 

Dr. Tito Beyeza, the acting director of Mulago hospital confirmed the development citing that Twinomujuni was pregnant. “She developed bleeding, headache, and dizziness, but being pregnant, peple thought those were effects of attempted abortion. Later, she was suspected of having malaria,” Dr. Beyeza said. 

Twinomujuni continued bleeding even after receiving treatment for malaria from Kisugu. She travelled back to Kabale where she got a miscarriage but the bleeding did not stop. She was later adviced to seek help from Mulago were the virus was found and diagnosed.  “We were alerted by the Ministry of Health when she was comin so we managed to take precautionary measures,”

Dr. Beyeza assured the people who feared that Twinomujuni would have transferred the virus during the course of her travel or stay.  In Kabale district, new 18 cases have been discovered. The 18 are said to have gotten in contact with the five who first died in the area. Of the 18, 17 are being monitored by the ministry of health. “We monitor them from the communities everyday. Be we won’t isolate them until they develop symptoms of Marburg,” Rukia Nakamatte, Minister of Health spokesperson said.  One person, accoding to Dr. Placid Mihayo, the Kabale Hospital director, suspected of having the disease was reported at Rushoroza Health Center 3. “We have received a call from Rushoroza where another patient is showing Marburg symptoms. We are going to test him,” he said. 

Marburg was first reported last week after a family of five people died from the disease. This comes a few weeks after Uganda was cleared of the Ebola virus which claimed lives of more than five people. Ebola also first originated from Kabale district.