Hussein Bogere
12 December 2007
Kampala — The City Council of Kampala has put in place several measures, including the spraying of buses from western Uganda, in a bid to curb the spread of the Ebola virus.
At the same time, the death toll of the Ebola fever has risen to 30, whereas the cumulative number of people suspected to be suffering from the fever has also risen to 116.
Mr John Lule, the Public Health Inspector for Kampala said authorities are encouraging public transport operators to spray their transport vessels.
"We are in touch with UTODA and UBOA. We have asked the operators to spray their buses' (and taxis) linings because some of the passengers could vomit in there. The buses, especially those from the affected areas should be sprayed from their starting points and as they leave Kampala. The tyres too should be sprayed. They should have protective gear to be used in case of an emergency," Mr Lule said. The practice by the ministry of health is to spray people's shoes with JIK.
The precautionary measures, Lule said, which was arrived at after a meeting between KCC and other stakeholders on Monday, are to take immediate effect. He also said the authorities in the city are carrying out impromptu visits to salons within the city, looking for those that don't have sterilised equipment.
Asked how feasible the implementation will be, Mr Lule said it could be hard in the initial stages, "but we are going to sensitise the people.
Already complained
"Some people have already complained, but we shall educate them. If they decline to adhere, we shall take legal action." Mr Lule said the bus operators are supposed to provide the protective gear to protect their passengers.
KCC is also planning to decongest the dingy areas used in downtown Kampala as cookeries. "We met with stakeholders yesterday," Dr Livingstone Makanga said "and agreed to close or limit some of the over-crowded alleys or what are referred to as binamwanddu (widows)". The areas being referred to are the dingy alleys used mostly by women to prepare food, especially in downmarket Kampala.
"We have stopped people from going to those food establishments. Our enforcement officers are looking out for any defaulters," Mr Lule said in a telephone interview yesterday. The Ebola virus which is incurable, is transmitted through contact with an infected person, including sweat and saliva, but not airborne.
It appears that the Ebola spread toll is beginning to slow down. In Tuesday's updated message from the ministry of health, 12 people were still in admission in Kikyo Health Centre and 17 in Bundibugyo Hospital.
The good news, according to Dr Emmanuel Ottala, State minister for health, is that "five people who were admitted have been discharged. Of the five, four were in Bundibugyo Hospital and one in Kikyo Isolation Unit".
This rare streak
The first outbreak of this rare streak of Ebola was detected in Bundibugyo in August, but could only be confirmed in November.
The minister also announced that the laboratory for diagnosing Ebola at the Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe is now fully functional.
"They have so far analysed 50 samples. All the samples of the ALERT cases from the districts of Kanungu, Mbarara, Kasese, Kabarole, Mbale, Masaka, Gulu, Adjumani are all negative.
As we speak now, 60% of the cases in Bundibugyo are positive and the rest are negative and we are being followed up," Dr Ottala said.
Meanwhile Stanbic Bank, the only bank in Bundibugyo district has closed its branch for fear of Ebola.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
