Malaria cases in Gulu have risen to 38, 096 in January 2016 compared to 2,169 cases at the same time last year, according to Gulu’s acting district director of health services Robert Ongom.
Mr Ongom said last week that Gulu now receives 10,000 malaria cases weekly. He attributed the increases to the ending last year of mass fever treatment after the district run out of drugs.
‘‘Last year we had to stop the mass fever treatment because we ran short of anti-malaria drugs, that is why malaria cases have risen after the end of the exercise ended,’’ Ongom said.
Ongom said the increase in malaria cases in Gulu has increased the workload among health workers in the district.
Atleast 152 deaths as a result of malaria have been registered in Gulu since 2015, according to figures from Gulu regional referral hospitals, St Mary’s hospital Lacor and various health centres within the district.
Margaret Aceng, the in – Charge of Laroo health centre III told Acholi Times that the health facility receives 200 cases of malaria weekly.
Celestino Ojok, the Gulu district health educator said an epidemic task force (DETF) under leadership of the RDC has been instituted to combat the rising cases of malaria in the district.
