While Uganda has not yet recorded a case of Hantavirus disease before, scientists have urged the public to be alert warning that the disease-causing rodents and small mammals are present and common in the country.
The confirmation of hantavirus outbreak, believed to have started in South America, has sparked fear across the world prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to release a dossier urging countries on readiness considering that infected persons were moving on a water vessel which had 147 passengers whose movements or contacts cannot all be traced.
According to Dr Elizabeth Mgamb who leads Emergency Preparedness at the WHO Uganda office, it is highly possible for any country to record cases as it is not yet clear how many people exactly got infected with the deadly virus. By Saturday, there were eight cases recorded where three have since passed on. She said, the first person to get infected could have had an environmental exposure in Agentina and Chile.
While scientists continue studies to establish the trends of person to person transmission, Mgamb said countries like Uganda should be assessing their readiness to handle in case of an outbreak both in terms of detection at points of entry and laboratory infrastructure.
Mgamb was speaking shortly after Makerere University based virologist Dr Misaki Wayengera revealed that actually the deadly andes virus that causes the disease is within the family of Crimean Congo and rift valley viruses which are quite common in Uganda.He said, the fact that the virus is spread by small mammals within our homes is particularly concerning.
The hantavirus transmitted through contact with rodents or their fecal matter, urine and even scratches, like other deadly viruses, causes diverse complications including hemorrhagic fever, swelling of the brain and kidney failure.Experts say affected human cases experience chills, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain and respiratory complications.
Dr Bruce Kirenga, a Senior Lung Expert says when something enters the respiratory system, it means transmission can be quite high. He urged the Ministry of Health to start creating awareness about the disease even as it has only been confirmed many miles away. For him, for a disease such as this, with no vaccine for it, the biggest protection is ensuring prevention.
Warning that sometimes such pathogens are in the environment without knowledge of scientists or making people sick, Dr Bruce Kirenga, a Senior Lung Expert called for strict sanitation measures to avoid accumulation of animal droppings-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
