Disease

Typhoid in Uganda - Update

An outbreak of typhoid fever has infected hundreds of people in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, and looks likely to spread as the rainy season gets under way, a senior health official said on Wednesday.

At least 4,000 suspected cases of typhoid fever have been reported, 400 of which have been confirmed.

The disease's epicenter is a slum in downtown Kampala where many were sickened by contaminated water and fruit juices.

The World Health Organization says the majority of water sources that were tested in downtown Kampala were found "heavily contaminated" with fecal matter, and that most of those affected are men between the ages of 20 and 39.