Several months after the nodding disease was reported in Kitgum, the district still remains uncertain of what to do to contain the disease.
Reports indicate that the disease is on the rise in the district but district officials say there are apparently no steps being taken to ensure that its spread is prevented.
The district LC5 Chairperson, Nyeko Luka, says they are still unable to make a formal statement on how to deal with the disease because they are still waiting for test results from Atlanta USA.
At least 13 children have so far died of the disease and 87 others have it.
Nodding disease is a fatal, mentally and physically disabling disease that only affects young children between the ages of 5 and 15.
One of the first symptoms is that an infected child appears to be falling asleep - the eyes close and head droops, even though they may not be tired and the condition gets progressively worse and can cause a child to fall and injure themselves.
Other symptoms are losing cognitive ability and experiencing stunted growth. Some die of infections because they are weak or malnourished.
The disease was first reported in 2009 in Tuma-Nguu in Akwang sub-county in Kitgum district and has since spread to the neighboring sub-counties.
Experts are at a loss as to what causes the degenerative disease.
In response to the growing situation, people in Tuma-Nguu, one of the villages in Akwang Sub County that has the highest number of infected children, have called on pastors in the district to visit the area and conduct prayers there in the belief that the disease could have been caused by the demons.
One elder in the area, Jakalia Okello, says it is the spirit of the very many people who were killed by LRA rebels and were not properly buried that are causing the disease. He says he hopes prayers will help send away the bad spirits that may be causing their suffering.
When contacted, Dr. Amandua Jacinto, the director clinical services in the ministry of health said a team of medical experts and officials from the USA Centre for Disease Control are already investigating the disease to find out the possible causes and treatment.
He says preliminary investigations show that nodding is a neural disease that has become a problem in the districts of Pader, Kitgum and parts of Southern Sudan.
Dr. Amandua says while the results in USA have not been returned, the ministry of health has also been monitoring some nodding patients at Mulago hospital drawn from Pader district.
He cautions while the bigger strategy is still underway, patients need to be given moral support because the disease mainly affects the nerve system.
