Health workers sent to north Republic of Uganda as protozoal infection epidemic kills over 650

Uganda sent a team of quite 370 doctors to the northern a part of the country on Monday wherever a protozoal infection epidemic ravaging the region since July has killed concerning 658 individuals.

Uganda reportable associate degree uncommon irruption of protozoal infection within the north of the country in July, that health officers say has affected a million individuals from a population of concerning thirty-nine million.

Uganda has one amongst the very best rates of protozoal infection in continent, with some a hundred,000 deaths, principally pregnant girls and kids beneath 5, and sixteen million cases a year, in keeping with the country's Ministry of Health.

The emergency team sent to traumatize the epidemic consists of twenty six medical doctors additionally as clinical

officers and nurses.

"The team has been narrowed for a amount of thirty days to supply case management at the hospital level," aforementioned Asuman Lukwago, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health.

District leaders within the affected areas have conjointly been asked to recruit a lot of doctors, looking on the extent of the matter at intervals their space.

Northern Republic of Uganda has the very best range of registered cases of protozoal infection within the country, government knowledge shows.

The region is convalescent from a brutal 20-year uprising that destroyed most of its infrastructure, as well as health facilities.

"Due to varied interventions, there has been a gentle decline within the cases to this point being registered," Lukwago aforementioned.

"However, the irruption continues to ravage individuals within the region."

Globally, there have been 214 million cases and 438,000 deaths from protozoal infection in 2015, in keeping with World

Health Organization figures.

Data shows a world decline in new cases, with the desert region carrying a disproportionate burden of the illness.

Lukwago aforementioned because the ministry continues to watch and trace a lot of individuals with signs and symptoms of fever, it'll conjointly offer anti-malaria medication and provides to all or any health facilities within the affected districts.

As a part of an extended term intervention, Lukwago aforementioned the govt. can, beginning in June, conjointly start an interior residual spraying campaign targeting four.5 million individuals in sixteen districts within the east and north of the country.

The government hopes the initiative can contribute to achieving and sustaining protection of a minimum of eighty five % of the individuals in danger of protozoal infection by 2017.

Lukwago aforementioned the campaign can later be scaled up to incorporate a lot of fifty districts wherever cases of protozoal infection are high, as a part of the Republic of Uganda protozoal infection Reduction Strategic set up 2014-2020.

However, the ministry is additionally appealing to the general public to sleep beneath associate degree insect powder treated bed internet and destroy all breeding places for protozoal infection vectors by clearing bushes, removing stagnant water close to homes and dealing closely with village health groups to watch and refer cases to facilities.

"Those already diagnosed with protozoal infection square measure requested to finish the dose of anti-malaria given to them," aforementioned Lukwago.