The puzzling illness is reported to have affected around 300 people, mostly women and girls.
The symptoms of the illness include fever and excessive body shaking which makes walking challenging.
Although, in most instances, the disease goes away without treatment, after a week, some patients have gone to the Bundibugyo General Hospital for treatment.
Dr. Kiyita Christopher, the district health officer, informed the local media that no instances had been recorded in nearby areas outside of the Bundibugyo region and that samples had been submitted to the health ministry for analysis.
The doctor noted that no fatalities have been reported and that the illness is usually treatable with antibiotics given by community health teams.
“There is no scientific evidence that herbal medicine can treat this disease. We are using specific treatments, and patients usually recover within a week. I urge locals to seek treatment from health facilities within the district,” he stated.
One of the patients, an 18-year-old lady named Ms. Patience Katusiime, recalled her experience with the illness, noting that her body kept shaking uncontrollably, despite feeling paralyzed, as reported by the Ugandan newspaper, The Monitor.
“I felt weak and got paralyzed, with my body shaking uncontrollably whenever I tried to walk. It was very disturbing. I was taken to Bundibugyo Hospital for treatment, and thank God, I am now fine,” she recounted.
A few months back, there was an outbreak of Monkeypox (mpox) reported in Uganda and other East African states.
Mpox
The World Health Organization (WHO) identified the mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, which immediately prompted a response from the governments in East Africa.
They then set out to educate their population on how to protect themselves and stop the spread of mpox (monkeypox).
According to the World Health Organization; “Mpox (monkeypox) is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever. Most people fully recover, but some get very sick.
Anyone can get mpox. It spreads from contact with infected: persons, through touch, kissing, or sex animals, when hunting, skinning, or cooking them materials, such as contaminated sheets, clothes or needles pregnant persons, who may pass the virus on to their unborn baby.”
