According to Jackson Twebaze Ndahayo, the Butaleja District Veterinary Officer, "over 66 people were bitten by rabid dogs since last year," and many more cases are likely going unreported.
While receiving the vaccines on Tuesday, Ntungamo District Chairperson, Samuel Mucunguzi, urged cattle farmers to actively participate in the mass vaccination campaign to help eradicate the persistent FMD outbreaks in the region.
The cases were registered at the Runga Landing Site in Kiganja sub-county over the weekend bringing to 394, the total number of people affected by the disease since its outbreak was reported in the district two weeks ago.
The outbreak was confirmed last week in four villages of Runga and Kavava in Kiganja sub-county, and Tonya and Rwentale in Buseruka sub-county, along the shores of Lake Albert with children between the ages of one and five years being the most affected demographic group.
The President wants Parliament to reconsider the proposal that requires the government to seek permission from local authorities before destroying infected materials during medical emergencies.
The Jinja South Division West MP recommended that the proposed amendment is modified to subject the Minister’s statutory order for compulsory vaccination to parliamentary approval.
Private Health Sector officials under their umbrella body, the Uganda Health Care Federation have sought more time from MPs to make a decision on government’s proposal that seeks to make vaccination mandatory.
The object of this Bill is to amend the Public Health Act to repeal obsolete provisions, to revise the fines for offences committed under the Act, to repeal the Venereal Diseases Act, and the Immunization Act 2017, among others.
Goat Plague is a viral disease related to the rinderpest of sheep as well as goats. It is characterized by fever, cough, very bad-smelling breath, diarrhoea and discharge from the eyes and nose, which can form a crust, making breathing difficult and forcing eyes shut.
The Ministry of Health guidelines require all adults to wear face masks while in public or crowded places, use hand sanitisers, observe social distancing and get vaccinated to protect themselves from infections. Public gatherings are also restricted to not more than 200 people and a nighttime curfew is also supposed to be maintained from 7 pm to 5:30 a.m.
Fred Mwebe,29, who turned up to inquire about the procedure at Kitante Primary School center vaccination center told URN that 22 out of the 29 teachers at Green Valley Junior School, Kalerwe travelled to their home towns when the president announced the lockdown. He says that they have failed to reach some of the teachers on their known mobile telephone numbers.
Rumours and myths surrounding Covid-19 vaccines have thrown some Ugandans into an abyss of fear and mistrust yet studies have shown that current vaccines appear to be effective enough to end the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Resident District Commissioner, Geoffrey Osborn Ocheng, who also doubles as Amuru District COVID- 19 Taskforce Chairperson, told URN this morning that they gave the medical workers four days to take the jab, which has elapsed today.
Dr. Felix Kaduchu, the Dean Faculty of Medicine at Gulu University told URN in an interview on Tuesday evening that some students tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. “We have not forced them to take the vaccination but they realized that some of their colleagues had tested positive with the virus and decided to embrace the exercise,” Dr. Kaduchu explained.
Margret Lapaka, one of the affected farmers in Paicho Sub County says they are struggling to pay the extension workers in the District 5,000 shillings for each animal to get vaccinated.
Although the government had initially said that the doses would cover 482,000 People, with each getting two injections spaced between eight weeks, the plan was later revised, to allow more people to get the first dose. But soon after the change, the Serum Institute of India, announced the halting of vaccine exports to first, serve their domestic market.
William Onyai, the Gulu District Health Educator, says that the disease has remained a challenge noting that many people have failed to embrace Hepatitis B vaccination.
An official at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital told URN on condition of anonymity that there are often between 3 to 4 unclaimed bodies at the facility each month. Dr. David Tibwamanya, the Principal Administrator Gulu Regional Referral Hospital, says that always hand such bodies to Gulu City Council after waiting for their relatives to claim them in vain.
