One mpox case found in Uganda prison, official says

By Elias Biryabarema

KAMPALA (Reuters) -A case of mpox has been found in Nakasongola jail in central Uganda, a prison spokesperson said on Tuesday, adding that the patient had been isolated and was receiving treatment.

The World Health Organization declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years in August, following an outbreak of the viral infection in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, which has spread to Burundi, Uganda and Rwanda.

An outbreak of the disease at one of Uganda's overcrowded prisons could become a major concern for health authorities.

Mpox can spread through close contact. Usually mild, it is fatal in rare cases. It typically causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body.

"Unfortunately the prisoner couldn't be given bail since he's being held for murder," said Frank Baine, a spokesperson for the Uganda Prison Service. "We suspect he came in with it but that's being investigated."

Baine said the prison would rely on systems and protocols set up during the COVID-19 pandemic to try to combat the spread of the disease.

The latest figures released last week showed Uganda's mpox case load had risen to 41, according to a health official quoted by the Daily Monitor, Uganda's biggest independent newspaper.

Health Ministry spokesperson Emmanuel Ainebyoona said he would give an update on the outbreak later on Tuesday.

In September the health ministry said it had secured 2,000 doses of mpox vaccines from Africa CDC to help combat the outbreak, but has not said if it has started conducting vaccinations yet.

Congolese health officials launched their first mpox vaccination campaign on Saturday.

Uganda is also on high alert for possible cross-border transmission of the highly infectious Marburg virus from an outbreak in neighbouring Rwanda.

(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Louise Heavens and Christina Fincher)