By Andrew Cohen Amvesi
ARUA
Arua city has recorded over 130 cases of measles from the time the disease outbreak was confirmed by the Ministry of Health.
Officials said the ministry confirmed a measles outbreak in Ayivuni ward, Ayivu Division in Arua city on January 27, 2024 before it started spreading to other parts of the city.
While addressing journalists during a monthly press conference at Arua city headquarters on Tuesday, Dr. Pontious Apangu, the City Health Officer said the measles outbreak was reported in the parishes of Anzu and Kubo in the former Ayivuni sub-county before it spread to all the four parishes of the sub-county.
“And on 27th of January, 2024, the Ministry of Health confirmed this as an outbreak and since then, we have recorded over 130 cases. The disease has also now spread to involve Adumi, some parishes of Pajulu and a few cases have been registered in the central Division of the city,” Apangu said.
“Yes, with the ministry, we were able to carry out ring vaccination. In ring vaccination, you are targeting the people susceptible of having the disease in a small geographical location. So, this was to contain the outbreak so that it doesn’t move any further and in this ring vaccination exercise, we targeted to vaccinate about 22,000 children but we were able to vaccinate and attain a vaccination coverage of 108 percent – meaning that we have vaccinated more than what we targeted,” Apangu explained.
He said what is now left for them is to vaccinate other sub-counties (wards) that were not vaccinated because they have continued to register increasing cases in Adumi and some few in Pajulu.
But Apangu noted that by the time they finished vaccination in the affected parts of Arua city, the ministry officials moved to Obongi district which had also registered cases of measles.
“So, we have a micro plan to vaccinate the entire city. We have already shared this micro plan with the ministry and with partners, so we are waiting for the ministry to confirm to us that they have secured funding to enable us to do vaccination all round,” Apangu remarked.
However, Apangu said as they wait for the confirmation from the ministry, measles is still present within the population and being a communicable disease, there is need to heighten routine vaccination.
“As we talk now, the measles vaccine is available in all the facilities in Arua city. It is now our call that health workers and parents, can we reach out to the children, can we bring the children and have them vaccinated. We don’t have to wait for the city-wide campaign to come, we need to vaccinate these children,” Apangu appealed.
Similarly, Sam Wadri Nyakua, the Arua city Mayor called upon the public to embrace good health seeking behavior by always immunizing their children, eating well (balanced diet foods), using toilets, and rubbish pits for dumping wastes, having regular health checkups among others.
According to Nyakua, it is because of the bad health seeking habits that the city continues to register cases of disease outbreaks which would otherwise, be prevented at the homestead level.
