Uganda, WHO set up cholera isolation center

KAMPALA, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Health authorities in the mid-western Ugandan district of Kagadi and the World Health Organization have set up an isolation center to control the spread of cholera.

James Olowo, the district health officer, told Xinhua by telephone on Sunday that the center can accommodate at least 100 patients.

"So far we have put three patients in that isolation center as we continue to contain the spread of the disease," he said.

A cholera outbreak in neighboring Hoima district has left at least 40 Congolese refugees dead since February.

The refugees, who fled fighting in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, are now settled at Kyangwali and Kyaka II Refugee Settlements.

According to Uganda Red Cross, the influx of Congolese refugees has overwhelmed health facilities in the area and led to squalid conditions in the settlements, fueling the outbreak that started in mid-February.

The organization estimates that 70,000 Congolese have arrived in Uganda since the start of the year, 80 percent of them women and children. Enditem