Uganda, Sudan, DRCongo Agree to Share Information on Epidemics

Text of report by Frank Mugabi entitled “Uganda, Sudan, DRCongo to fight epidemics” published by Ugandan newspaper The New Vision website on 14 April

Health officials from Uganda, Sudan and DRCongo have adopted a common strategy to share information to avert outbreaks of epidemics among the border communities.

This was during a regional cross-border health meeting at the Koboko District [northwestern Uganda] headquarters on Wednesday [11 April].

Officials from the Greater Yei county in Sudan and the northeastern DRCongo agreed to cooperate in epidemiological surveillance by constantly exchanging information. “With the increasing mobility in the region, transmission of infections will increase. That is why we need a surveillance mechanism to detect, stimulate quick response and reduce damage in case of an outbreak,” Dr Alfred Driwale, the Koboko health chief, said.

The Koboko LC5 [local council five] chairman, William Dada, described the move as a breakthrough, which comes after a deadly meningitis epidemic that killed hundreds of people in the region. In West Nile, 3,642 cases were registered with 150 deaths. World Health Organization adviser Dr Andrew Bakainaga said 19 of the new cases were reported between 26 March and 1 April. He attributed the decline in the disease prevalence to the mass vaccination by the Health Ministry.

Meningitis is a highly infectious airborne disease transmitted through droplets of respiratory or throat discharges. It is suspected to have been spread from the Sudan border town of Kajo Keji, where an outbreak was reported.

The acting Yei medical chief, Simon Loro, said they recorded 246 cases with 18 deaths and that the disease was still a threat despite mass vaccination campaigns.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Africa. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.