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THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has said suspected cases of smallpox disease in eastern Uganda appear to be chickenpox.

“WHO is aware of the reports from Bududa but according to preliminary investigations by our team, it might be chickenpox,” said Dr. Joachim Saweka, the WHO country representative.

He said smallpox can sometimes be confused with chickenpox which occurs among children but is rarely dangerous.

Smallpox was eradicated worldwide by a global vaccination programme, led by WHO.
The last known case was in Somalia in 1977. Since then, the only known cases were caused by a laboratory accident in 1978 in England, causing the death of one person.
The world health body certified the eradication of smallpox in December 1979.

The Uganda Red Cross team in eastern Uganda confirmed that four young boys were found infected with chickenpox.

“We have established that four boys have chickenpox and were isolated from the camp where they were staying for treatment at a nearby health centre,” said Kevin Nabutuwa, the Red Cross team leader in Bududa.

The New Vision learnt that the four children were all boys, aged two, four and nine years and an 11-month-old baby.

Three of the children were treated immediately and discharged. The 11-month-old baby is still hospitalised at Bukigai health centre.

“We didn’t carry out any blood tests but from their skin conditions we could tell it was chickenpox,” said Zipolar Wanyoto, a midwife at the centre.

Chickenpox is easily passed between members of families and school children through droplets in exhaled air and fluids from the sores of infected persons.

It can also be transmitted by contact with pieces of clothing and other items exposed to fluids from open sores. Symptoms of the disease tend to appear 15 days after exposure.

The disease is characterised by one to two days of mild fever, general weakness and an itchy skin rash which creates open sores.

“This is a common disease in areas where there is overcrowding and among children sharing clothes and bedding. The four boys were from Bulucheke camp,” Wanoto explained.

Meanwhile, additional reports from the Uganda Red Cross indicate there is a shortage of malaria rapid diagnostic kits and anti-malaria drugs in Bududa.

This is hampering treatment at Bulucheke and Bukigai camps for people displaced by landslides. Wanyoto explained that malaria and cough are rampant in the area.