19 of the 34 suspected Ebola patients admitted at Kagadi hospital have tested negative of the disease.
Kibaale District Health officer Doctor Dan Kyamanywa says laboratory tests done on the patients samples at the Uganda virus institute proved that 19 were negative while three were confirmed with Ebola.
Samples of the other patients are yet to be returned. Doctor Kyamanywa says the 19 patients have now been moved to the convalescent ward which separates them from those who are positive and those whose status is yet to be determined.
The patients will be kept in the ward for some days to recover before they are discharged. Kyamanywa explains that the confirmed patients are on serious treatment and their condition is improving.
By Saturday evening no new cases had been reported at Kagadi hospital since Friday when two were admitted. Doctor Kyamanywa attributes the reduction in the patient rate to efforts made to easily identify and isolate suspects and the contact persons.
More than 300 contacts are being followed up while the cumulative Ebola cases reported stood at 57 by Saturday.The death toll remains at 19 in Kibaale.
Meanwhile World Health Organization has sent in a new team of ten Ebola experts to beef up the disease management efforts.Doctor Joachim Saweka, the world Health organization country representative, says the team with ten vehicles would help in the timely responses to reported Ebola cases in the community.
Doctor Saweka was in Kibaale district on Saturday.
Christine Ondoa, the minister of health, was also in Kibaale for the Ebola situational analysis on Saturday. The minister stressed government’s commitment to containing the disease through provision of enough funds.
She said UGX 3b had been earmarked for the fight although explaining that this money will be released in phases. On Friday 600 million shillings part of this money was released to the district.
