23 dead in cholera outbreak

An outbreak of cholera has hit Uganda's western border district of Bundibugyo, killing 23 people over the past month, according to a senior health official in the district. William Sichauna, the Bundibugyo district director of health services, told IRIN on Wednesday that 235 cholera cases had been received in the local hospital over the past month. Of these, 23 had died. According to the medical officer, the epidemic had its origins in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and was being spread by civilians who were crossing the border into Uganda. Sichuana told IRIN that the district had received crucial supplies from the government, but efforts to control the outbreak were frustrated by the inability to reach the source in eastern DRC. "Things have been improving," he said. "We are getting supplies from the government. We are really coping. The problem is we can't get to the source across the border." Situated at the foot of Uganda's Rwenzori mountains, Bundibugyo is one of the districts most affected by the rebel Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) insurgency, which began in 1998 and displaced thousands of people. The district's displaced population has continued to live in camps in the town, despite Ugandan army assurances that it has crushed the rebellion.