There have not been any deaths related to Rift Valley Fever in Lyantonde district, the Health Ministry has said.
The ministry senior public relations officer Emmanuel Ainebyoona dismissed the reported outbreak of Rift Valley Fever as claimed by local authorities in Lyantonde.
He says the Health Ministry has received results from tests carried out by Uganda Virus Research Institute on the samples collected from the district and they are negative.
The development stems from earlier this month when health officials in Lyantonde district were quoted indicating that 11 people had succumbed to Rift Valley Fever, an acute fever causing viral disease that is commonly seen in domesticated animals like cattle, sheep and goats. It can spread to humans through contact with infected animals or eating infected meat.
However, Ainebyoona says the ministry is still investigating the cause of deaths the sxame district. he adds that the fever has been confirmed in districts along the cattle corridor where 28 suspected cases and eight deaths have been recorded since the beginning of the year.
The affected districts include Isingiro, Ibanda, Sheema and Mbarara. This prompted the Ministry to set up an isolation center at Mbarara hospital to handle the cases, while health inspection teams have also pitched camp in the affected districts to sensitize and educate locals about the disease to contain its spread.
