More Ebola deaths spark panic

2007-12-06 13:28

Kampala - Health workers are among the dead in an Ebola outbreak in Uganda, spreading panic among those needed to help.

Doctors and nurses did not at first know what they were facing, so failed to protect themselves, according to a parliamentarian representing the western area at the centre of the outbreak.

Experts said the Ebola subtype that sparked the outbreak was new and the classic Ebola symptoms were not always present, slowing diagnosis.

"We are facing a crisis in health care here," said Jane Alisemera, an MP representing Bundibugyo, a district 200km from Kampala, where the outbreak had claimed at least 18 lives. Health workers "are scared and morale is low".

She said: "There is a very big shortage of nursing staff now at the hospital."

Highly contagious outbreak

According to the ministry of health's latest figures, Bundibugyo had 93 suspected cases of Ebola, among them 22 deaths.

Four health workers were among the dead in an outbreak that began on August 20, but the disease was not confirmed as Ebola until November 29.

Alisemera said: "The staff at the hospital didn't know they were dealing with a highly contagious outbreak so they took inadequate precautions."

The hospital had not protective clothing at the time of the outbreak, she said, though aid agencies had since donated supplies.

Two teams including infection control doctors from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United States' Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, recently arrived in Uganda to help local officials contain the outbreak.

In previous Ebola outbreaks, the virus had often spread in health care centres, where doctors and nurses were not properly protected.

Nurses 'work without gloves'

WHO and CDC experts recommend that when caring for Ebola patients, doctors and nurses wear gowns, gloves, goggles, masks and boots.

Local media reported that nursing staff in the isolation unit at Bundibugyo Hospital were working without gloves and masks, and that the door of the ward was not locked.

Some health workers had threatened to strike unless they were paid extra for the risk they were taking, said Alisemera.

Kazinga, a local government official and head of the district Ebola task force, said: "The staff are moving in a state of fear.

They have lost many of their colleagues and have put themselves at great risk in the line of duty. It is only fair that they should get some extra money, unfortunately we did not have the funds available immediately."

He said that negotiations with hospital staff had resolved their complaints and that medical personnel were attending patients.

Doctors would be paid a daily risk allowance of $23, nurses and auxiliary staff $17 and $12 respectively, he said.

Since the threat of the strike, the United Nations children's agency had offered to contribute money toward the extra payments.

- AP