Hoima: Cholera death toll hits 27

The death toll from the cholera outbreak in Hoima district has reached 27. Dr Fred Kugonza, the Hoima District Disease Surveillance Officer, says more people died between Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

He explains that 13 people died in the isolation centers at Sebigoro reception center and Kasonga while 14 others died within the host community in Sebigoro and Nkondo landing sites.

According to Kugonza, the number of those hospitalised has shot up to 627 people.

They are being treated at Sebigoro reception center in Kabwoya Sub County and Kasonga in Kyangwali Sub County. He says the death toll is likely to increase since most of the Congolese refugees are scattered within the host community. Dr, Kugonza says the epidermic has spread to Kaiso and Kyehoro landing site.

According to Kugonza, they have deployed Village Health Team personnel at the reception center in Sebigoro to identity new arrivals with cholera symptoms for immediate referral to the treatment center.

He blames the problem on poor hygiene among the refugees, consumption of unsafe water, open defecation and eating unhygienic food from roadside vendors.

Most of the cholera vitcims are children below five years.

The cholera outbreak was first reported at Sebigoro landing site on the Lake Albert shores on February 11, 2018 among the Congolese refugees fleeing tribal clashes between the lendu and Bagegere in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

More than 40,000 Congolese have crossed into Uganda via Lake Albert since the clashes brok out in mid December last year. The last cholera outbreak in Hoima district was registered in June 2016 that also originated from the Democratic Republic of Congo.