Monitor A 42-year-old man has died after presenting signs of Rift Valley Fever in Bushenyi District in western Uganda, health officials said Tuesday.
Mr John Muramira Kein, a resident of Kyaruhijika village in Rwijangye Parish, Kyabugimbi Sub County died at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital on Sunday.
Rift Valley Fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever that is most commonly seen in domesticated animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats but can also be transmitted to humans.
The fever is caused by the rift valley virus, according to scientists.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the virus was first identified in 1931 during an investigation into an epidemic among sheep on a farm in the Rift Valley of Kenya.
One of Muramira’s close friends, Mr Clemento Kiiza, a resident of Kyaruhijika, said they first thought he (Muramira) had malaria because he had fever and a simple headache before his condition deteriorated.
“He started by complaining about fever and headache. We thought it was malaria, so we took him to Mushanga Health Center III. When we reached the hospital, he started passing blood through the nose, stool and we decided to take him to Ishaka Adventist Hospital. However, his condition did not improve. We then took him to Mayanja Memorial Hospital,” Mr Kiiza said.
Muramira was later transferred to Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) for better management where he was diagnosed with Rift Valley Fever (RVF).
“When we reached Mayanja Memorial Hospital, they asked us to take him to MRRH for better management. On reaching MRRH they picked blood samples and took it to Entebbe for testing on Saturday (May 13). The results returned the following day indicating that he had Rift valley fever,” Mr Kiiza said.
The head of Community Health at MRRH, Dr Francis Mugabi, confirmed the case saying the patient reached the facility when he was very ill.
“He was unconscious and he was bleeding from the nose, vomiting blood, had severe kidney failure, some of which are key symptoms of RVF to date. His samples were taken and sent to Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) in Entebbe where they tested positive with RVF,” he said.