Written by Phanice Chepkemoi and Cajectan Okondo 2012-08-03 11:32:00 Read 886 Times

A seven year old child, suspected to have died of the Ebola virus has been reported at Kapsokwony District Hospital of Mt. Elgon District.

According to the Medical Superintendant of the hospital Achieyenza Shikunzi, the child was having diarrhea with blood stains.

The patient a 7 year old girl, from Kamtiong Village, was brought to the hospital at 11am, where she was admitted  but  passed away  2 hours later while being attended to by the doctors.  

Dr. Edward Simiyu, a medical officer at the hospital’s, the patients relatives had stated that the child had been sick for some time and had passed blood stained urine, diarrhoea and also vomited blood.

According to Dr. Simiyu, the symptoms were synonymous with Ebola, but on testing the kid was she was diagnosed with severe malaria and dysentery.

He said wananchi should not be worried because the child that passed away had been sickly for some time, perhaps ruling out the possibility that she had contracted the deadly viral disease.

“We are almost certain it was not Ebola, because contrary to the dreaded disease and what the parents said, the patient did not vomit blood.”

He however, said the hospital was taking the necessary precautions and that blood samples from the child were sent to Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) for testing.

“We are treating it a case of severe malaria and dysentery, for the meantime, as we await results from KEMRI, but Mt. Elgon being on the border with Uganda, we cannot ignore anything,” said Dr Simiyu.

Similarly, a Middle aged man has been put into an isolation ward after he was admitted at Moi Teaching and Referral hospital in Eldoret with the signs and symptoms of Ebola.

In Bunyala District, the Ministry of health began a sensitization campaign to warn the residents over the Ebola disease which was reported to have spread from the western side of Uganda.

District Health Officer Bunyala District Mr. Joseph Opurong stated that the program shall involve both the local area chiefs and barazas who shall ensure that the residents prevents themselves from Ebola disease mostly those who travel to Uganda most frequently.

“Already the Ministry has deployed several ministry health officers and community health officers on the ground to watch keenly the movement of the people in and outside the country along the borders and lake side mostly fishing zones such as Port victoria and Osiek,” he added.

Speaking with West FM during the stakeholders meeting at Mulukoba, at Port Victoria he added that the ministry is closely liaising with neighbor districts: Samia and Siaya and Busia at large to see that each residents from those areas are safe from the disease mostly fishermen and businessmen.

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