Mpox: 52 contacts of Arua first case traced

Arua, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Arua City health department is using bodaboda cyclists to help intensify the sensitization on Mpox disease in the area.

This follows the tracing of 52 individuals who came in contact with a person who tested positive for Mpox.

Arua City received an alert about a suspected Mpox case on November 29th.

The female aged 24, who resides in Pangisa Ward, Arua city, fell ill while working at the Elegu border, and when she reported to Arua Regional Referral Hospital, her samples were tested at Uganda Virus Research Institute and they turned positive on December 4th.

Alias Mohammad, the Health sub-district Surveillance officer, said the 52 contact cases are being followed for any signs and symptoms.

Since the outbreak of Mpox in Uganda Arua City has received 32 alerts of suspected cases, and 19 of them met case definitions, were investigated, and one turned out positive.

Mohammad appealed to the public to report any suspected cases of Mpox, for quick diagnosis and management.

“In surveillance, any rumour, any alert is very important, even if it’s a false alert,” Mohammad said.

He listed the high-risk areas within the city where the 52 contacts are coming from are; Oyoze Cell, Kibir, Pajulu Alivu, Pangisa, Asuru, Olide and Oli D.

Bernard Amaga, the Arua City Senior Health Educator, however, said all the villages within the central division are densely populated, which means they are all high-risk areas, and urged residents to strictly follow preventive measures to avoid contracting the virus.

He explained that currently, there is a low index of suspicion, yet there could be several people with signs and symptoms.

Amaga revealed that they have employed bodaboda riders, to help in passing the message on the dangers of Mpox to their peers so that the information spreads faster.

The city health officials will equip the boda bodas with vests or visibility jackets that have messages that should be able to speak to the community about the risks of Mpox.

According to Amaga, a group of 10-15 boda bodas is tasked to disseminate the basic message on Mpox for a week, and another lot is recruited in the following week to intensify risk communication and social mobilization to the communities.

Amaga revealed that the city has also trained 100 of the 1,004 members of the Village Health Team, VHTs in the city, to disseminate information on Mpox, identify suspected cases and refer for management.

Amaga appealed to all residents of the city to live responsibly and avoid activities that predispose them to contracting the virus, such as overindulgence in drinking alcohol, having multiple sexual partners, and unregulated movements.

“We are aware that we are coming to the Christmas period and this is a time when people move from one place to another,” Amaga said.

Residents are also advised to always wash their hands as one of the preventive measures.   Amaga said hand washing in the City has dropped to 22.5 percent after the peak of Covid-19.

“Now that we have Mpox, a disease of contact, we need to ensure that people wash their hands most of the time, especially when you are interfacing with somebody who has signs and symptoms,” he added.

Uganda confirmed the first case of Mpox on 24th July 2024 and has so far registered more than 900 cases, with 141 new cases, registered in the past 9 days. At least 56 districts in the country have registered cases of the Mpox virus.

Mpox is a disease similar to smallpox caused by a virus. It causes flu-like symptoms such as fever and chills, and a rash that can take weeks to clear.

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