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| Most Rev. Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, Archbishop of Kampala |
Following the outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) in Kampala, Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kampala has asked the faithful to take some precautions which included a directive on temporarily stopping the faithful from shaking hands as a sign of peace during Eucharistic Celebrations.
Confirming the directive by the Archbishop, Fr. Philip Odii, the National Communications Secretary told AMECEA Online News that the Archbishop however, did not issue an official directive, either in writing or so, but rather have been advising faithful of the Archdiocese to avoid shaking hands in general and hugging as a measure to prevent the spread of the virus.
“The Archbishop was just echoing the sentiments of the president of the Republic of Uganda His Excellency Yoweri Museveni who on 9th October, during the 52nd Independent Day celebration at Kololo Airstrip who warned Ugandans not to shake hands or eat game meat as a result of MVD breakout in Kampala.” Fr. Philip said.
On 5thOctober 2014, the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Uganda notified WHO of a confirmed case of Marburg virus disease (MVD) in Kampala, Uganda.
The confirmed case was a healthcare worker who had onset of disease on 11thSeptember 2014 while working at Mengo Hospital, Kampala. The case presented to Mpigi District Health Center on 17th September 2014, and transferred to Mengo Hospital, Kampala, on 23rd September 2014. On admission the case presented with symptoms including fever, headache, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea and died on 28th September 2014.
The case reported no history of travel beyond Mpigi, no contact with a person with similar illness. He had not eaten bush meat nor had had contacts with bats in the last 4 weeks.
“So far no other similar infections have been reported elsewhere in the country and the Ministry of Health is on high alert,” Fr. Philip said.
Source: Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Social Communications