MBALE, Uganda, May 22 (Xinhua) -- An outbreak of cholera following frequent floods in eastern Uganda has left six people dead and dozens more admitted in hospital, local authorities said here on Saturday.
"Since the outbreak of the deadly disease early this week, cholera has now killed six people in two sub counties of Mulanda and Kirewa," Emmanuel Osuna, the district local council chairman told Xinhua on the phone.
The outbreak in Tororo district, eastern Uganda, was a result of recent flash floods that ravaged parts of the mountainous area following torrential rains, local officials said.
"We have so far received about fifty cases in the main hospital. It has forced the district authorities to set up reception centers that will handle emergencies as the medics struggle to treat them amidst scarcity of the drugs in the hospital," said Osuna.
The floods destroyed the latrine facilities, contaminating drinking water and posing a grave health threat to the local communities.
The district authorities have dispatched a team of medical personnel to the established reception centers in Mulanda and Kirewa so as to treat the patients before the situation get worse.
"Most of these local residents do not boil water for consumption hence aids the snap spread of the disease among the communities where safe clean drinking water is a scarcity," he said.
Meanwhile, local government has sought assistance from the health ministry and other agencies like the World Health Organization for necessary drugs, according to Osuna.
