David Okema
Two patients from Amuru district have tested positive with cholera at St Marys Hospital Lacor, a Gulu district health official said on Tuesday.
Gulu district Surveillance Focal Person, Dr Michael Cankara said at his office in Gulu town that the patients are a 27 year old mother and her five year old son.
The two patients are from Elegu in Amuru district and have been put in an isolation unit at Lacor hospital, according to Dr Cankara.
Elegu is located at the border between Uganda and South Sudan and is the first entry point into Uganda by South Sudanese refugees fleeing conflict in their country.
The mother and child were on Friday last week rushed to Lacor hospital from Elegu market zone on suspicion that they had cholera. Tests at Lacor proved that suspicion right.
Dr Cankara said the condition of the boy had improved but said his mother still needs more medical attention.
Cholera is a water borne disease that can quickly spread in filthy environments. Dr Cankara, however, said there is no need for alarm in both Amuru and Gulu as no more cases of the disease had been reported.
“The situation is calm, we are vigilant, there is no new cases that have been reported,” he said.
Dr Cankara attributed the registered case of cholera in Amuru as a result of interaction between people from Elegu, Adjumani and South Sudan.
The health official said it is not a good practice to carry cholera patient from one area to another to minimize its spread. But in the case of Elegu which has no isolation unit, the patients had to be moved to Gulu.
He appealed to the community in Gulu and Amuru to keep themselves, their homes, and their environment clean and also to drink and eat clean food.
In August there was a cholera outbreak in a refugee settlement in Adjumani district.
