MUBENDE, UGANDA: District officials in Mubende are gripped in panic after four people who presented with signs and symptoms of Ebola escaped from health workers in Madudu Sub-county on Wednesday.
The four are contacts of the 24-year-old man who succumbed to haemorrhagic fever on Tuesday, September 20 at Mubende Regional Referral Hospital.
According to the Resident District Commissioner, Ms Rosemary Byabashaija, the quartet had showed symptoms of Ebola but ran away as a team of health officials were on their way to move and isolate them.
“The four people had signs but decided to run away and the other two refused to be brought to the hospital. They said ‘for us, we are not going for treatment whether you like it or not, for us we shall die from here,’” Ms. Byabashaija said.
“People don’t believe in the disease or are still ignorant about it but we have decided to continue with sensitisation and we have formed the sub-county taskforce lead by sub-county leaders to take a lead in sensitising the community after realising that people believe in their leaders,” she added.
The development comes shortly after the Ministry of Health yesterday (Thursday) confirmed six more cases of Ebola, bringing the total cases to seven. The cases are in Mubende (six) and Kyegegwa (one) districts.
According to figures from the Ministry of Health, up to 43 contacts of the victims have been evacuated from the communities and are being monitored at the isolation centre at Mubende district hospital.
By press time, a total of 16 patients were reported to be admitted at the hospital, with four of them in a worrying condition and no death reported.
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