http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/SSHN-79RJK9?OpenDocumentKAMPALA, Dec 10, 2007 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Another seven people were killed by the deadly Ebola hemorrhagic fever in Uganda as twelve new cases were reported over the weekend amid an outbreak that has sounded alarm in ten out of 79 districts across the country.
A total of 29 people have so far been killed by Ebola out of 113 infections as of Monday morning, Sam Okware, chairperson of the National Task Force for Ebola, told Xinhua by telephone on Monday.
He said seven new cases were reported in the western district of Bundibugyo which has been hit hard by the epidemic since August.
and over the weekend it got uglyEbola isolation centre closed over violence
In Kabarole, irate villagers, said to have been incited by the local leaders, attacked the Kichwamba isolation centre, smashing windows and doors.
Passions had been running high since the district decided to locate the centre at Kichwamba, with residents threatening to flee their village.
Some patients, who had been taken to the centre as they awaited the results of their tests, fled to Bundibugyo and Kabarole. Other patients were transferred to Buhinga Hospital, where an isolation centre has been created.
The commissioner for health services, Dr. Sam Okware, yesterday said the ministry had flown experts to Kichwamba to investigate the riot.
In a bid to appease the population, the ministry of health started sensitising the communities, using a mobile film van.
In Buhinga, too, the presence of suspected Ebola patients scared others. Medical workers said the out-patients’ department, which is usually packed, had only one patient on Thursday and only two on Friday.
The in-patients had fled several days earlier when people who showed signs associated with Ebola were admitted at the temporary isolation ward.
In another incident, two patients exhibiting signs of Ebola and their relatives turned violent at Virika Hospital when medical staff did not immediately find transport to transfer them to Buhinga hospital. The hospital had to give an askari protective gear so that he could restrain them.
Health workers in Kabarole reported a lot of fear among the public, which they said could hamper the fight against Ebola. They complained that relatives of suspected patients attacked medical staff, insisting that they must be allowed to handle their patients.
“You find about four people attending to one person, insisting on touching the patient with bare hands. They will spread this disease further,” Dr. Musa Walakira said.
Reports from Bundibugyo also said families of patients who died of Ebola, including the family of Dr. Jonah Kule, were being shunned by members of the community.
“Families of patients have experienced isolation. Neighbours are running away from them. Merchants refuse to accept the money they pay to buy food,” Dr. Myhre of World Mission Harvest said in a report.
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