The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Mubende, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | 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 hospitals for safety of their bodies and their partners.
Dr Aceng said that although experts recommend 6 months, she is recommending one year for total healing. According to 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 2 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 leave a total of 40 patients admitted at Mubende Hospital.
She also explained that the discharged persons were provided with new beddings and clothes because the ones they came with were 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 wives and other women.
The Minister also toured Madudu health center III where she commissioned the second isolation center which was established to help people easily access treatment without trekking long distances.
Dr Aceng also 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 help, 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 counseled to accept them.
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