U.S Govt boosts Uganda’s Mpox fight with test kits worth Shs1bn

The country has so far reported over 200 confirmed cases and one death

Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | As part of ongoing efforts to combat Mpox in Uganda, the United States Mission in Uganda, through its public health agency, the U.S. Centres for Disease Control (CDC), has donated an additional 5,000 laboratory test kits and critical consumables valued at approximately US$265,000 (Shs1bn). The donation is intended to strengthen Uganda’s Mpox diagnostic capacity.

The consignment, which includes essential extraction kits and PCR-based primers/probes, was officially handed over by the U.S. Ambassador, William Popp, to the Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, at the Ministry of Health headquarters. This latest support aims to bolster Uganda’s ability to detect and respond to Mpox cases swiftly and effectively.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Amb. Popp emphasized the U.S. government’s commitment to assisting Uganda in managing public health challenges, including Mpox. Dr. Aceng expressed gratitude for the support, underscoring the importance of collaborative efforts in safeguarding public health. The testing kits are expected to be distributed between Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) and Uganda National Health Laboratory Services (UNHLS), Uganda’s primary testing facilities in the Mpox response.

The latest donation by the U.S Mission in Uganda brings to 10,000 test kits donated by the U.S. CDC since the outbreak started. This is also in addition to the over US$4 million (over Shs 14bn) the U.S. government has extended to Uganda since August to Uganda in its response against Mpox.

“It is not enough to have skilled personnel; it is important to empower them with the tools to work—the test kits/consumables that we are handing over today are part of our deliberate effort to help have as complete, timely and effective response as possible,” Amb. Popp said.

He said, the U.S Mission hopes the consumables will go a long way in helping detect Mpox in communities and, “to hopefully help in case tracking which is key to preventing the spread of this disease.” Amb. Popp said knowing one’s status through testing and having the ability to track the cases when individuals present with symptoms is fundamental to fighting Mpox and bringing the outbreak under control as quickly as possible.

Popp said, his government’s donation to the Ministry of Health is part of a broader effort that the United States has closely been working with the Ministry of Health over the last several months to help prevent spread this contagious and dangerous disease.

“It is key in this effort to know who is presenting with the virus, who is potentially able to spread it to other individuals. So, these test kits are part of that effort. It’s the second tranche of test kits the U.S has provided to the Ministry of Health in the last two months,” he said.

“It’s one reflection of our continued commitment to work side by side with Uganda in fighting this outbreak and ultimately part of the broader effort, particularly through public communication and public information so that people know what the risks are; how to keep themselves safe, what behaviour and activities can put them at greater risk and how through their own actions they can access service that helps prevent passing the virus or the disease to anyone else.”

The assistance, he added, is part of the U.S. government’s ongoing health and development support to Uganda, which aims to build a strong and resilient health system capable of detecting, preventing, and responding to various health threats including mpox.

Mpox cases rising

Uganda has so far reported over 200 confirmed cases and one death.  However, public health experts remain vigilant even if the country has made significant strides in responding to the outbreak. Since the global outbreak of Mpox, formerly known as Monkeypox, in 2022-2023, there has been an increased spread, particularly in the African region.

On Oct.31, the Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC) warned that the mpox outbreak was far from being defeated on the African continent. The Africa CDC appealed for more resources to avoid a “more severe” pandemic than COVID-19.

“The situation is not yet under control, we are still on the upward trend generally,” Ngashi Ngongo, from the Africa CDC told a briefing on Oct.31.  According to Africa CDC, more than 1,100 people have died in Africa, where about 48,000 cases have been recorded since January, this year, according to the CDC.

In the week ending Oct.31, 2,345 cases were reported across the continent, along with 34 more deaths,  Dr. Ngongo who leads Africa CDC’s Mpox incident management team, said at the agency’s weekly press briefing.

He added that, although the region is many months into the outbreak, more firsts were reported during the week, including the first case in Mauritius, raising the number of affected countries to 19, and the first death among Uganda’s confirmed cases.  Central Africa, which has been hardest hit by the outbreak accounts for 85.7% of cases and 99.5% of deaths on the continent.

Cross-border activity, sexual spread seen in Uganda

Uganda’s cases have been rising over the past four weeks, with 61 reported in just the past week, Ngongo said.  A higher percentage of cases (63%) in Uganda have been reported in men, with a lower proportion in children younger than 15 years old (12.5%), compared to the outbreak’s main epicentre, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Much of Uganda’s transmission is due to cross-border and sexual activity, with new clusters reported in fishing communities, Ngongo said. Also, the virus is expanding its footprint in Uganda, with three new districts reporting cases over the past week.

“This situation calls for urgent and sustained action to curb transmission and prevent further outbreaks,” said Dr. Elizabeth Mgamb, the Team Lead Emergency Preparedness and Response at the World Health Organization (WHO) Country Office in Uganda. She was speaking on Oct.28 to media managers and editors in Kampala.

“The dynamics in the current Mpox outbreak are changing. We are observing a high level of human-to-human transmission and transmission among sexual partners. This is new in the mpox response and needs deeper research and community engagement.

“We are at a pivotal point where these interventions must be concretized to prevent escalations. We need to prevent the disease from spreading to vulnerable populations such as children, pregnant women, and immune-compromised persons, which can result in mortalities.” Dr. Mgamb added, noting that there is a need to avert large institutional outbreaks in schools, prisons, and refugee settings.

Causes of Mpox

Mpox, previously known as monkey pox, is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals such as monkeys but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact. The virus is said to be caused by the monkeypox virus, according to Dr Yaron Wolman, the Head of the Child Survival and Development Section at UNICEF- Uganda.

Dr. Wolman said the disease often presents with common symptoms such as skin rash or mucosal lesions which can last 2–4 weeks accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.

He said Mpox is treated with supportive care for symptoms such as pain and fever, with close attention to nutrition, hydration, skin care, prevention of secondary infections and treatment of co-infections, including HIV where present.

He said anyone can contract Mpox since it spreads from direct contact with infected persons (through touch, kissing, or sex); infected animals (when hunting, skinning, or cooking them); infected materials/surfaces (such as contaminated sheets, clothes or needles) and during pregnancy (women, may pass the virus on to their unborn baby.”

He added that patients with weakened immune system such as children with malnutrition, patients with HIV/Aids, and patients with other illnesses weakening the immune system are at increased risk of developing severe symptoms.

Dr. Wolman said avoiding close contact with infected persons, not touching personal items of infected persons like bedding, clothes; cleaning one’s hands frequently with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub and avoiding handling wild animals could go a long way in keeping oneself from getting infected. He also encouraged timely reporting of suspected cases for testing and treatment, adding that most patients of mpox often recover within 2-4 weeks if properly taken care of.

Government commends US for the support

Uganda’s Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, noted during the meeting with Amb. Popp that the test kits will go a long way in supporting the laboratories to continue carrying out tests for mpox, which is the current outbreak that the world is grappling with.

Dr. Aceng said the U.S government has been very supportive not only in providing test kits but also providing financial and technical support to ensure that the country’s response is robust and that measures can reach out to the last person in the communities. She said, within East Africa, Uganda, Burundi and DR Congo have so far been worst hit by the Mpox.  “I want to appeal to Ugandans to live responsibly and ensure that we bring this outbreak to an end,” she said.

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