Ministry of Health officials have taken blood samples from 30 students of Nyakasura Secondary School in Kabarole District, suspected to be suffering from swine flu.

A team of medical officials led by Dr Barnabas Bakamutumaho from the Uganda Virus Institute went to the school yesterday afternoon after getting reports from the Kabarole District health department that students from the school had symptoms related to swine flu.

Some of the health officials were from Kasese, Bundibugyo and Kabarole districts.

Reports of the suspected swine flu at Nyakasura started on Friday when 50 students were admitted at the school sick bay with high fever, headache and flu.

The headmaster, Mr William Rwakijuma Kantu, said a week ago, some of the sick students travelled to Mbarara and Bushenyi districts for a leadership conference.

Mr Rwakijuma also said the management of the school got concerned when some of the students fell sick immediately after returning from the two districts.

He said some of the sick students who were picked by their parents will be traced and their blood samples taken.

Dr Bernard Bakamutumaho said blood samples taken from the students will confirm whether the students are suffering from seasonal or pandemic influenza.

Two weeks ago, nine students of Kitabi Seminary in Bushenyi contracted swine flu.

Meanwhile, in Kasese, the district does not have the medical facilities to protect its population against swine flu.

Mr Fred Karim, the district health inspector, said without adequate facilities or funding for public education, a Ministry of Health swine flu alert for Western Uganda has no real impact.

Kasese, Isingiro, Mbarara, Ntungamo and Kiruhura districts were put on alert after cases of the highly contagious swine flu were reported in Bushenyi District .

The Ministry of Health said although it is not a severe strain of the flu, neighbouring districts need to be aware of the potential of the disease to spread.

Mr Karim said the warning is of no significance if it is not accompanied with funds to prepare health workers and hospitals for a possible outbreak of swine flu.

According to Mr Karim, none of the three hospitals in Kasese (Kagando, Kilembe and Bwera) have the capacity to detect the disease.

Districts around Bushenyi will have to depend on a mobile laboratory to test swine flu samples.

Last week the Ministry of Health warned the districts of Isingiro, Mbarara, Ntungamo, Kiruhura and Kasese to be aware of the swine flu outbreak in Bushenyi where some students have escaped from the affected Kitabi Seminary to those areas.

Mr Karim revealed that they have failed to track the students who left the affected schools in Bushenyi.

"Tracking the students who escaped from Bushenyi schools is impossible because even parents cannot expose their children, " Mr Karim said.

Officials in the Ministry of Health have said that a vaccine against the influenza A (H1N1) virus or swine flu is expected to be out produced next month.

Mr Paul Kaggwa, the assistant commissioner for Health Promotion and Educative Division, while giving updates of the swine flu situation in the country on Monday, said: "The cases of people infected with swine flu have been increasing although at a low rate. This vaccine acts as protection against this airborne disease therefore when it is made available, the figures of the infected will hopefully decrease tremendously," Mr Kaggwa said.