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Cholera outbreak kills five as 103 are infected in northeastern Uganda

27 October 2010 04:31 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A Cholera out break in the northeastern Ugandan district of Nakapiripirit has killed five people and infected over 100 more since the outbreak was confirmed last week, a top health official said here on Tuesday, APA reports quoting Xinhua News Agency.

Stephen Mallinga, minister of health told reporters at a media briefing that the disease broke out on Oct. 18 after a visitor from a neighboring district which has had on and off cholera outbreaks visited a homestead in Nakapiripirit.

"To date, we have had five community deaths which have been reported mainly in Nakapiripirit town," he said, adding that 103 cases have so far been registered.

He attributed the spread of the disease to poor sanitation noting that the whole of northeastern Uganda has a poor latrine coverage of only about five percent.

Most people in the region, also known as Karamoja, excrete in bushes and when it rains, the feces could be washed away into rivers and ponds where people collect water for drinking.

He said despite the region having a lot of boreholes for safe water, most people prefer pond or river claiming it tastes better.

"Karamoja is still a very high risk area for Cholera," he said.

Cholera is caused by vibrio cholera germs and it is transmitted through eating contaminated foods with the pathogens that thrive in human fecal matter. The common symptoms include rice-watery stool, abdominal cramps and rapid dehydration.

According to the World Health Organization, Cholera remains a global threat and is one of the key indicators of social development.

While the disease no longer poses a threat to countries with minimum standards of hygiene, it remains a challenge to countries where access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation cannot be guaranteed.