According to a prison official, mpox was found in Nakasongola jail in central Uganda on Tuesday. The patient had been placed under isolation and was receiving treatment.In August, the World Health Organisation announced that the mpox virus had become a global public health emergency for the second time in two years. The virus began to spread from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo to Burundi, Uganda, and Rwanda.
An outbreak of the disease in one of Uganda’s overcrowded prisons could cause major concern among health officials.Mpox can be transmitted through close contact. It is usually mild, but can be fatal in rare cases. It usually produces flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body.”Unfortunately, the prisoner could not be granted bail because he is being held for murder,” said Frank Baine, a spokesperson for the Uganda Prison Service. “We suspect he brought it in, but that is under investigation.”
A test tube labelled “Mpox virus positive” is held in this illustration taken August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Baine stated that the prison would use systems and protocols established during the COVID-19 pandemic to combat the spread of the disease.According to a health official quoted by the Daily Monitor, Uganda’s largest independent newspaper, the latest figures released last week show Uganda’s mpox case load has increased to 41.Emmanuel Ainebyoona, a spokesperson for the Health Ministry, said he would provide an update on the outbreak later Tuesday.
In September, the health ministry announced that it had obtained 2,000 doses of mpox vaccines from the Africa CDC to combat the outbreak, but it has yet to say whether vaccinations have begun.Congolese health officials launched the first mpox vaccination campaign on Saturday.Uganda is also on high alert for potential cross-border transmission of the highly infectious Marburg virus following an outbreak in neighbouring Rwanda.
