Three of the 53 Uganda’s confirmed coronavirus cases are on road to recovery after testing negative, the Health Ministry has said.

According to the Director General Health Services, Dr Henry Mwebesa the three patients have tested negative twice after treatment and will soon be discharged from hospital.

“Three cases have tested negative twice after treatment and are being considered for discharge by clinicians,”Dr. Mwebesa said in a statement on Thursday.

The news of recovery of the three patients will be a sigh of relief for both government and Ugandans as it will help calm their anxiety including those who have been infected with the virus on top of those still in self- isolation.

Despite 1,601,018 people being infected worldwide, the good news is that 354,972 have fully recovered from the deadly pandemic ravaging the world since its outbreak in the Wuhan city of China last year.

Such success stories of recoveries have also been seen in neighbouring Kenya and Rwanda.

While addressing the nation on Wednesday, President Museveni said government is currently assessing the impact of measures on the spread of the pandemic to see if they are lessened but he said he was happy the country is moving in the right direction.

“If we had not acted in time, I don’t know where we would be now. We are still assessing the effect and we don’t want to rush too quickly to celebrate that we have succeeded. We are monitoring the results which may not be conclusive but showing some success,” he said.

Uganda has been hailed by the World Health Organisation over the measures put in place to combat the spread of the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

In a bid to encourage Ugandan to consume nutritious foods and fruits for a healthy living, Brookside Limited and My Food Network have partnered to provide innovative ways through a promotion dubbed “Every fruit counts”.

According to the Manager of Brookside, Vincent Omoth, the social media promotion gives consumers especially food enthusiasts the leeway to consume innovative foods including fruit yoghurt and others through participating in eating the foods as a snack, breakfast, lunch or a  merger into their already prepared meals.

During the handover of Brookside Fruit Yoghurt goodies held yesterday at The Gardens Najjera, Omoth said, ‘Brookside Fruit Yoghurt contains real fruit and does not have preservatives or artificial additives. The yoghurt is nutritious and healthy, rich in nutrients including Vitamin A, B, C, D, E, Calcium and Potassium among others.”

He added that the promotion which was launched in early September is aimed at encouraging people to consume Brookside Fruit Yoghurt as a healthy and nutritious food containing real fruits. 

The challenge is currently running on My Food Network Facebook page.

The week’s winners include Tany Bakes, Cilla Nakabiri, Richard Obonyo and Tambiti.

The 2012 study, Cost of Hunger in Uganda, estimated the health cost of children’s under nutrition-related illnesses less than 5 years to be more than Shs525 billion, most of which was used for treating under nutrition and associated illnesses.

It is also estimated that under nutrition costs Uganda Shs1.8 trillion, an equivalent of 5.6 per cent of its GDP annually. 

A woman identified as Doreen Akoth is suing International Hospital Kampala-IHK for negligence during a surgical procedure that has had lasting effects on her body and lifestyle.  

Akoth visited International Hospital Kampala for delivery on October 28, 2017, after antenatal visits to Bethesda Hospital in Soroti and St. Anthony Hospital in Tororo.

However, she explains that the episiotomy that was conducted on her during childbirth and the stitching process that followed was wrongly done. The episiotomy is a surgical cut made at the opening of the vagina during childbirth, to aid a difficult delivery and prevent rupture of tissues.  

But Akoth narrates that during the process, a previous third-degree tear was injured. She adds that her rectum was sealed in the stitching leaving her in untold pain, whenever she visits the toilet. She also faults the midwife for rushing to break the amniotic sac at 6 cm instead of the recommended 9cm. The sac was broken after two days in Labour.  

The amniotic sac is broken to start labour contractions or make them stronger of the cervix is dilated and when the baby’s head is deep in the pelvis. Usually, a thin plastic hook is used to make a small opening in the amniotic sac and cause the water to break. 

Akoth, however, says that in her case, proper medical procedures were not followed.  She says no Doctor attended to her during her stay in Hospital, even after delivering a baby on October 30, 2017.  

According to her petition submitted to the Civil Division of the High Court of Uganda, she sought further treatment at Tororo Main Hospital, two weeks after she was discharged from IHK. At the time of the visit to Tororo Hospital, Akoth says, she had severe pain in her pelvic area.

She adds that medical tests conducted afterwards indicated that she had developed sepsis, as a result of cotton wool that stuffed into her body to control bleeding, and left inside. She also had an atonic bladder-implying that her muscles could no longer contract, making it hard for her to control the passage of urine.  

Akoth says she was later referred to Victoria Hospital before she moved to Case Clinic for specialist’s treatment.     Through her lawyer, Erias Lukwago, Akoth says that the several medical interventions that she has undergone since childbirth have affected her sexual impulse, practically putting her marriage on the brink of collapsing.  She adds that she now has to endure long term medication for her rectum to function.  

Akoth now wants IHK to pay her 10 million Shillings incurred for treatment, 3.4 million Shillings for accommodation and feeding and 2.5 million Shillings for transport incurred during her struggle to seek treatment.  

Dr Michael Oling the Director of Medical Services at IHK says that the hospital has received the suit. “We received the suit and are yet to respond to it. We are looking into it.”  

Akoth’s suit comes as IHK awaits to hear judgement from the Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners Council regarding claims of negligence on the hospital’s part that might have led to the death of former WBS journalist Nulait Nambaziira who passed away in 2018.

URN