Afrigather Madudu, Uganda ‒ Since an Ebola outbreak was declared in Uganda on 20 September, well being assistant Nyangoma Kirrungi has been on the frontline of the nation’s response day in and day trip, working as a contact tracer in Madudu sub-county, one of many areas affected by the outbreak.
With help from World Well being Group (WHO) and companions, the Ugandan Ministry of Well being has skilled and deployed round 300 contact tracers like Kirrungi, who play a essential function because the nation seems to be to curb the unfold of the illness.
As a part of surveillance group, Kirrungi follows up a mean of 40 contacts a day. “I work carefully with the investigation unit,” she explains. “As soon as they file a confirmed case of Ebola, my group and I’m going to the sphere to observe up with the affected person’s contacts to make sure that they’re symptom-free after which we stay on alert to determine and report signs ought to they develop.”
In response to Dr Bernard Logouomo, the Ministry of Well being Surveillance Crew Lead in Mubende District, one other Ebola-hit space within the nation, contact tracing is vital to ending the outbreak. “When the neighborhood cooperates within the response and contacts are recognized, it turns into simpler to comprise the illness,” he says.
Contact tracers observe a questionnaire designed to evaluate if a contact has Ebola signs. Each contact tracer works with a most of 10 village well being employees, who’re volunteers skilled in illnesses surveillance. Recruited by communities, village well being groups assist construct belief and overcome fears amongst responders.
Along with the deployment of contact tracers, two hotlines have been created for communities to report suspected instances. Investigators observe a listing of questions designed to evaluate the necessity to dispatch an ambulance or a medical officer. As soon as a case in confirmed, a case investigation group establishes a listing of contacts, relying on the place the affected person was prone to have been contaminated and who they could have met afterwards.
After contacts have been situated and screened, village well being groups take over to observe them for any signs for 21 days ‒ the Ebola incubation interval. Past this necessary supporting function, these groups additionally present invaluable help in elevating consciousness of the illness inside their communities. For the reason that begin of the epidemic, the Ministry of Well being has skilled over 1200 village well being group members, additionally with help from WHO and companions.
With solely 25% of contacts adopted up each day within the first days of the outbreak, contact tracing rapidly improved. By mid-October, practically 94% of 552 contacts have been seen and monitored day by day for 21 days.
Lydia Nasamba, a market dealer and a resident of Madudu, has been a member of an area village well being group for greater than eight years. “Daily at 3pm, I’m going to the sub-county neighborhood radio station, the place I elevate consciousness about Ebola ‒ its signs, preventive measures and the way to report instances,” she says. “After that, I go to the recognized contacts in my neighborhood to examine their well being standing.”
Whereas the contribution of individuals like Kirrungi and Nasamba is a vital element of Uganda’s Ebola response, they face quite a few day by day challenges, together with an absence of private protecting gear and dependable transport. Contact tracers are sometimes confronted with neighborhood members’ concern of being stigmatized or remoted in a well being facility, which places individuals’s livelihood in danger. Contacts might also not be house when contact tracers go to them, which makes it troublesome to observe them on day by day foundation.
With help from the US Company for Worldwide Growth and the Norwegian authorities, WHO has offered 4 Ebola kits to Mubende Regional Hospital and redeployed 108 technical employees to help with case administration, threat communication, neighborhood engagement and laboratory testing.
Again on the bottom in Madudu, nothing will deter Kirrungi from the duty at hand. “Since I’ve been concerned within the Ebola response, I really feel like I’m saving lives. I’ve realized that if all contacts are recognized and handled, the illness will disappear,” she says. “That is what motivates me each day.”
