Gulu district health department has registered a setback in its fight against a spike in malaria cases after the Village Health Team (VHTs) trained to fight malaria was attacked by the disease.
Recently, the district health department trained a total of 950 VHTs on managing and providing treatment to adults suffering from malaria following an surges in cases of the disease in parts of northern Uganda.
John Opwonya Odong, the District Malaria Focal Point Person says the VHTs were assigned to work in Bobi Sub County, one of the most affected Sub Counties in Gulu district.
But a test conducted found 17 out of 40 the VHTs having malaria.
Opwonya expressed worry over the result saying it may affects the fight against the disease. Opwonya added that the VHTs are central in malaria case management since they bring services nearer to the affected communities.
The VHTs were equipped with anti-malarial drugs and testing kits in a bid to improve case management as well as treatment.
Malaria has so far killed 378 in Acholi sub region with 168 cases of death reported in Gulu since a surge in cases of the disease in April last year.
New statistics released on Monday indicates that Gulu District alone has registered rising cases of malaria infections from 2,169 in May last year to over 450,000 by mid-February this year.
Meanwhile in Acholi sub region with a population of 1,511,613, an estimated 886,891 patients have turned positive after testing for malaria.
In February, the Ministry of Health (MoH) dispatched a team of more than 370 health workers to the northern Uganda to deal with the epidemic where since July last year about 658 people have died as a result of an unusual outbreak.
The most affected districts are Gulu, Agago, Pader, Kitgum, Lamwo, Oyam and Apac among others.
