Health Minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng has told survivors of Ebola Virus Disease to avoid sex for at least one year after being discharged from the hospitals.
This, the minister says, is for the safety of their bodies and those of their partners.
Dr Aceng said that although experts recommend six months, she is recommending one year for total healing. According to Dr Aceng, men should avoid sex with their wives because they may abandon the use of condoms yet the Ebola virus takes long to completely heal from the men’s genitals.
Dr Aceng made the remarks while witnessing the discharge of two Ebola patients from Mubende Regional Referral Hospital after they were treated and finally tested negative for the virus. The discharge of two men; Jeremiah Nkyogaza, a Rwandan working in Madudu village and Alex Sengoba from Kisamula village, now leaves a total of 40 patients admitted at Mubende Hospital.
The minister also explained that the discharged persons were provided with new beddings and clothes since the ones they came with had to be destroyed because they were infected with Ebola.
However, she warned that although the two men were provided with certificates indicating that they are negative, the virus could be hidden somewhere in their bodies which could be dangerous for their partners.
The Minister also toured Madudu Health Centre III where she commissioned the second isolation centre which was established to help people easily access treatment without trekking long distances.
Dr Aceng appealed to the people in villages to desist from eating meat of dead wild animals and others. She appealed to the community in Madudu to be vigilant and report all the contact persons to the authorities reasoning that the earlier people seek medical advice, the easier it becomes for them to get treatment.
Dr Aceng warned that when people go to the health facilities while bleeding from all outlets, it will be late for them to get healed. She asked those discharged to be ambassadors to show the public that Ebola can be treated and that the people in their respective areas have been counselled to accept them.
Dr Pascal Opio, the leader for Ebola treatment team said that the discharged patients received treatment for eight days and they are in good health and have undergone psychosocial counselling to be able to go back and reunite with their families.
The government on September 20 confirmed the outbreak of the Ebola Virus in Mubende District. By Thursday, Mubende Referral Hospital had 42 admissions, among them six medical workers with 26 patients in the emergency section pending confirmation tests.
Out of the 42, a total of 16 are confirmed positive Ebola cases while 24 were pronounced dead with only six confirmed positive of Ebola and that they died from the hospital.
Mubende District authorities say that more than 350 people who were in contact with Ebola-affected persons have been tracked and are undergoing assessment at the hospital as a measure to mitigate the virus spread.