Health Battles Meningitis As Cases Rise
The Monitor (Kampala)
NEWS
January 22, 2007
By Tabu Butagira
West Nile
Information has emerged from medical circles that the Ministry of Health does not have adequate anti-meningitis vaccines. Cases of death arising from the disease have been reported in Kotido district and West Nile region.
Reports indicate that the death toll in West Nile has now risen to seven in just two weeks. Shortage of drugs would mean that the government cannot undertake mass immunisation to contain further spread of the highly contagious meningococcal meningitis infection that has already infected 88 residents of Arua, Koboko and the new Maracha/Terego districts since January 4.
Director General of Health Services Sam Zaramba declined to comment on the reported shortage of the vaccine and referred Daily Monitor to Sam Okware, the emergency officer in the ministry. "Do not write rumours. Talk to Okware to find out the truth," Dr Zaramba said.
But Dr Okware told Daily Monitor on Wednesday that the ministry was using the balance of drugs for meningitis type A and C, which remained after the mass immunisation in Karamoja last year since it is similar strains affecting West Nile.
"This (Wednesday) morning, we despatched supplies of oil chlorophynicals enough for 900 cases to West Nile, so there should be no cause for alarm," he said.
Dr Okware said there are five types of meningitis cases; A, B, C, W135 and XYZ but the ministry lacks medical reserve for the last type. He says there are also no available supplies for meningitis serotype X reported in Kotido.
"Next week (this week), we shall decide whether to carry out mass immunisation in the affected districts of Arua, Maracha/Terego, Koboko and Yumbe," Dr Okware said.
However, Arua district vice chairman and secretary for health Kamilo Ssabo is angry with the manner in which Ministry of Health officials are handling the epidemic.
"We need urgent technical support from the Ministry of Health and the personnel should come down to the ground in Arua instead of giving instructions from Kampala because the disease has infected 30 people in just one sub-county of Rigbo," he said.
Currently, medics in the affected region are using simple anti-biotic drugs to treat the increasing number of meningitis patients mainly in Koboko health sub-district, Siripi Health Centre III and Omugo Health Centre in Terego County.
Latest statistics from Koboko indicate that three out of 42 meningitis patients admitted to the district health facility since January 4 had died.
Arua district health boss Dr. Patrick Anguzu said 46 meningitis cases and four fatalities have been registered in Aiivu, Odupi, Omugo and Rigbo sub-counties in the last two weeks.
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