Health teams dispatched to Kagadi after case of Crimean-Congo fever confirmed

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ugandan health experts have been dispatched to Kigadi district to contain an outbreak of the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF).

One case of CCHF has been confirmed and four suspects isolated at Kagadi hospital in western Uganda. According to the Uganda Red Cross, a district task force has been formed to manage and coordinate the cases across the district.

Uganda last experienced a CCHF outbreak in April last year in which one person died in the central district of Wakiso.

CCHF is a tick-borne illness transmitted to humans through tick bites. It can also be transmitted through direct contact with the blood, secretions and the organs of infected people.

Robinah Nabbanja, the new minister of state for health in charge of general duties, told Xinhua yesterday that,  “we have already dispatched a team of top health experts to the district. An isolation center has already been set up.”

She told Xinhua, “We are in touch with the district teams and the necessary medical supplies have already been availed to them,” the minister added.

Nabbanja said tests for Ebola virus had indicated negative.