The Ministry of health has appealed to all Ugandans to sleep under insecticide treated mosquito nets to avoid contracting yellow fever which has already killed more than 48 people in several districts of northern Uganda.
Yellow fever spread by Mosquitoes
The ministry in a press statement says people should destroy breeding grounds for mosquitoes like stagnant water and bushes around homes.
Yellow fever is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitos and can kill in as short a time as a week if the patient doesn’t get medical attention.
The disease that first puzzled health workers being suspected to be Ebola is confirmed in the districts of Abim, Agago, Lamwo, Kitgum, Pader, Gulu, Arua, Kaabong and Lira.
The Ministry says those suffering from yellow fever can be seen from symptoms of yellow eyes, abdominal pain, bleeding from the mouth, nose, eyes and stomach.
The patients present with fever, muscle pains and ache, headache, shivering, loss of appetite and vomiting.
The ministry of health says that people who feel any of the symptoms should report to the nearest health centre.
The government is set to launch an immunisation campaign against yellow fever in the affected areas to prevent more people capturing the viral disease.