Hoima receives 10,000 doses of measles vaccines

Hoima, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Hoima district health department has received more 10,000 doses of measles vaccines to help vaccinate people in the district against the disease.

An outbreak of measles was confirmed in the district two weeks ago.

The outbreak was first confirmed in four villages of Runga and Kavava in Kiganja sub-county and Tonya and Rwentale in Buseruka sub-county. The most affected are children aged between one and five years.

Following the outbreak, the district health department initiated a mass measles vaccination campaign in response to a confirmed outbreak of the disease in several villages along the shores of Lake Albert.

However, the district placed an emergency order to the National medical stores after they experienced shortage of the measles vaccines.

Fredrick Byenume, the Hoima district health inspector told Uganda Radio Network-URN in an interview on Saturday that they received more 10,000 doses of measles vaccines from the National medical stores-NMS. The vaccines arrived in the district on Friday.

The delivered vaccines bring to 16,000 doses of the measles vaccines availed to Hoima district following the outbreak. The 6,000 doses were delivered when the health ministry first confirmed the outbreak.

Byenume says the delivered vaccines will help vaccinate people in the district especially children between the ages of one and fifteen years.

He has appealed to local leaders and stakeholders to mobilize parents to ensure their children receive the vaccination, emphasizing the importance of preventing further spread of the disease.

Additionally, he has cautioned residents to avoid overcrowding in areas where the virus has been reported to mitigate the risk of transmission. To date, 394 people have been affected by the diseases since its outbreak was reported.

According to Byenume, up to 3,730 people have now been vaccinated against the disease in the district, most of them children aged between one and 15 years.

Measles typically presents with symptoms such as fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, inflamed eyes, and a characteristic skin rash. Health experts advise that symptoms usually appear 10 to 14 days after exposure to the virus.

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URN