Disease

Typhoid fever – Uganda

In a belated report, on 24 February 2015, the Ministry of Health of Uganda notified WHO of a typhoid fever outbreak.

The outbreak started in Kampala City at the beginning of 2015. As of 5 March 2015, a total of 1940 suspected cases have been reported. From the first epicentre in downtown Kampala, the outbreak has now spread to all divisions in the capital city and to neighbouring districts. The most affected groups are young males aged between 20 and 39 years. The majority of cases work in the business sector or as casual labourers. Food and juice vendors and cooks are also affected, hence the potential for wide spread of the disease. At the beginning of the outbreak Salmonella Typhi was laboratory-confirmed in 4 of 16 tested specimens. Further specimens have been tested during the outbreak identifying 5 isolates of Salmonella paratyphi group A. Contaminated drinking water and juices have been identified as the main sources of infection. The majority of water sources that have been tested were heavily contaminated with Escherichia coli and fecal matter.