Doctors walk inside the Ebola isolation section of Mubende Regional Referral Hospital, in Mubende, Uganda, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. In this remote Ugandan community facing its first Ebola outbreak, testing trouble has added to the challenges with symptoms of the Sudan strain of Ebola now circulating being similar to malaria, underscoring the pitfalls health workers […][/caption]
A MYSTERY illness leaving hundreds of patients shaking uncontrollably has struck Uganda, local media reports suggest.
The disease locals are referring to as Dinga Dinga, translating to “shaking like dancing”, has already affected around 300 people, mostly women and girls, according to health officials.
Doctors in Uganda putting on protective equipment[/caption]
The puzzling illness, reported in Uganda’s Bundibugyo district, causes fever and intense body shaking, making it difficult for those affected to walk.
Dr Kiyita Christopher, the district health officer, told the media that no cases have been reported outside Bundibugyo, and samples have been sent to the health ministry for analysis.
He reassured the public that there have been no fatalities linked to the disease and that it is typically treatable with antibiotics.
“Patients usually recover within a week,” he said.
Some have turned to herbal remedies to ease symptoms, but Dr Christopher strongly discouraged this approach.
“There is no scientific evidence that herbal medicine can treat this disease,” he warned.
“I urge locals to seek treatment from health facilities within the district,” he added.
Christopher told Ugandan newspaper, Monitor, that the illness was first reported in early 2023 and remains under investigation by health laboratories.
One patient, Patience Katusiime, shared her harrowing experience with the illness, describing how her body shook uncontrollably despite feeling paralysed.
“I felt weak and got paralysed, with my body shaking uncontrollably whenever I tried to walk,” she said.
“It was very disturbing. I was taken to Bundibugyo Hospital for treatment, and thank God, I am now fine.”
It comes just months after an outbreak of a new mpox strain was reported in Uganda and other East African states.
In August, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the ultra-deadly clade 1b variant of the disease a global public health emergency.
Officials warned that an outbreak of the virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DCR) and neighbouring countries like Uganda posed a situation of “international concern,” marking the WHO’s highest level of alert.
The strain has recently reached other continents, with imported cases being detected in Europe and Asia.
Five people in the UK have also tested positive for the bug, with the majority coming from a single household in London.
Germany reported its first case of the mutant bug in October, following Sweden’s first case in August.
‘Disease X’ in Africa
A NEW health threat is emerging in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where a mysterious illness called Disease X is killing people.
Experts use the term “Disease X” for any unknown pathogen with the potential to spark a global epidemic.
The mystery outbreak began in late October and has since sickened more than 400 people and killed 79.
People have fallen ill with a range of symptoms including fever, a cough, aches, and anaemia.
Most cases and deaths have been in children under 14.
So far, ten people have already tested positive for malaria. However, multiple diseases may be involved and testing is still ongoing
Last week, a team of doctors, epidemiologists, and other outbreak specialists were sent to Panzi, the rural part of the DRC where a mysterious illness has hit.
The area also suffers from high levels of malnutrition and low vaccination coverage, leaving children vulnerable to many diseases including pneumonia, measles, influenza, and others.
