An emergency response team from the national health ministry in Juba on Tuesday arrived at the border town Nimule in Eastern Equatoria State to screen travelers entering South Sudan from Uganda for Mpox.
The team from Juba is expected to collaborate with the response team from Eastern Equatoria State.
Mpox (previously called Monkeypox) is a viral zoonotic disease (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) that occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of central and west Africa and is occasionally exported to other regions. It causes a rash, fever, and swollen lymph nodes. It is usually mild, and most people recover within a few weeks.
Last week, Eastern Equatoria State and the national health ministry revealed plans to deploy an emergency response team in Nimule to screen passengers entering South Sudan for Mpox following the outbreak of the disease in South Sudan.
Dr. Ethin Concord, Director General of the Eastern Equatoria State Ministry of Health, said the joint team will screen travelers entering South Sudan through the Nimule border.
“The Juba response team has already gone to Nimule, and the one in Torit is ready, and we are just waiting for a green light from Juba then we will start moving, but already the response team is working,” he said.
For his part, Gama Martin Emmanuel, the Magwi County Health Director, confirmed the presence of the national health emergency response team at the border but decried the lack of vital infrastructure. He said there is a shortage of manpower and emergency drugs at the health facilities in Nimule to tackle an emergency and disease outbreak.
“We have a huge challenge when it comes to emergency response because we do not have the necessary infrastructure at the point of entry to screen for Ebola and MPox or any other diseases that are of international or national concern. The human resources that we have are limited and cannot support full-time screening, and we lack the equipment and supplies,” he said. “There is a need to quickly respond to the physical infrastructure and the human resource needs which can support this response activity. Also, the workers have to be motivated because those working at the facility have now spent four months without any incentives.”
“People must follow all the guidelines that have been given by WHO to protect themselves, their families, the entire community, and the nation as a whole,” Gama advised.
Meanwhile, Silvester Nyuma, the Medical Director at Nimule Hospital, said they have registered five suspected Mpox cases and that the samples have been taken to Juba for testing.
“For Mpox, we actually received five cases between 14 October and 15 December last year, and the samples were sent to the national laboratory in Juba, but the results have not come back, so we do not know whether they tested positive or negative,” he revealed. “These are travelers, and for us, we are engaging with any suspect, and we give them health education.”