By KT Reporter
Lamwo district authorities have maintained a temporary ban on the domestic use of water from the river Amok and the river Okura in Agoro Sub-county.
This comes as the district is celebrating more than ten days without registering any new cholera case, since the first outbreak was confirmed on January 9 from Laruc village in Pobar Parish, Agoro Sub-county.
Health authorities attributed the outbreak mainly to the consumption of contaminated water from the two rivers after Laboratory test results indicated a significant amount of cholera bacteria.
Dr Denis Omoya Ochula, the Lamwo District Health Officer, told Uganda Radio Network in an interview Wednesday that the last two cases of cholera patients were admitted at Agoro Health Center III on March 16.
Dr Omoya noted that the Health Ministry has already been informed about the significant progress the district is registering in combating the spread of the disease. He, however, said if no new case is registered in the next week, they may consider declaring the district free of cholera based on the Health Ministry’s advice.
Dr Ochula attributed the drop in the spread of cholera in the past week to the tight presence of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) soldiers who are surveying and monitoring the rivers to ensure locals don’t access them.
He has encouraged the community in Agoro sub-county to observe basic hygiene and sanitation practices through drinking clean water from other water sources and constructing latrines to avoid open defecation in rivers.
According to statistics from the district health department, a total of 106 positive cases of cholera were confirmed and 521 contacts listed from Agoro subcounty since January, when the outbreak was first reported.
The cases were mainly in the Parishes of Pobar with the highest 32 cases, Laruc 13 cases, Lopulingi 28 cases, Rudi, 10 cases, Ngacino 13 cases, Lorunya 8 cases, and Pawach with only two confirmed cases of cholera.
Lamwo Resident District Commissioner William Komakech noted that restrictions on access and the use of River Okura will be maintained for the next month until health officials confirm it is safe for consumption. He also noted that a ban on large market gatherings will go on to avert further outbreaks of the disease.
The district security committee had banned weekly and monthly markets in Agoro Sub-county, which attract thousands of people within Lamwo and outside the neighboring South Sudan since the outbreak, citing poor sanitation facilities and waste disposal.
At least one case of community death was registered by health officials since the outbreak of Cholera in Agoro Sub-county in January this year.
Inadequate latrines and poor human waste disposal in several villages in Agoro sub-county have long been considered risk factors in the spread of waterborne diseases. For instance, according to data from the health department, Lamwo district latrine coverage stands at 67 percent, with Agoro Sub-county in particular ranking the lowest at only 47 percent-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
