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Adjumani, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Health officials in West Nile have traced and are monitoring 30 contacts of the first case of Mpox that was registered in Adjumani district early this month.
The first case of Mpox in Adjumani is a 12-year-old girl from South Sudan refugee, who authorities in the district said had spent a month at the Nyumanzi reception centre in Adjumani District, where she had been transferred along with the family on August 3.
Dr Christopher Dradiku Azaba, the Head of the Department and Operations in charge of Public Health Emergencies at Arua Regional Referral Hospital, told journalists in Arua City during a sensitization meeting on Mpox on Friday.
“So far we have received information from the Adjumani team at the West Nile Public Health Emergency Center that the one case they have so far identified 30 contacts and they are following them closely to see who so going to develop signs and symptoms and when.”
Dr Azaba advised members of the community to avoid kissing, hugging, and handshaking and always wash hands with soap and sanitize frequently.
He also revealed that a team of volunteers are at the Vurra Border, which separates Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to screen those entering into Uganda, to contain the spread of the virus.
Dr Alex Andema, the Senior Executive Consultant at Arua Regional Referral Hospital, said the positive case is improving and those who were quarantined have not developed the disease.
Dr Adema also expressed concern that districts in West Nile are at a higher risk of getting cases because of being close to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, all of which have porous borders.
He pledged that the health team in the sub-region would strengthen the surveillance manpower at the border points to prevent the spread of the virus, just like they have been doing to control the spread of other infectious diseases.
Jackson Kadumye, a senior Communications Officer at the Ministry of Health, advised those who show signs of Mpox to seek medical help, saying Mpox can only be confirmed after a laboratory test.
Kadumye also warned the community against having multiple sexual partners, saying they are at a high risk of contracting the disease because it is contagious.
He also advised the community whose delicacies are wild animals such as squirrels and edible rats, that they could contract Mpox by eating or getting into contact with such animals.
The first case of Mpox in Uganda was confirmed on July 24, 2024, in patients from Kasese District. There are currently 24 cases of Mpox in Uganda.
Mpox is caused by the Monkeypox virus. According to the World Health Organisation, Mpox spreads between people through contact and occasionally from the environment to people through things and surfaces that have been touched by a person with Mpox.
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