What was the name of the chemical Dr Kiiza Besigye used to poison the water
supply in the North? Whoever has that answer knows the cause of nodding
disease. Start by talking to Dr Kiiza Besigye. Yes the very Besigye Edward
Pojim praises for going for a commission on Luwero deaths.
EM
On the 49th
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni and Dr. Kiiza Besigye Uganda is in anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni na Dk. Kiiza Besigye Uganda ni katika machafuko"
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Robukui .
Sent: Monday, February 04, 2013 6:58 PM
To: uah
Subject: {UAH} HOPE FOR VICTIMS OF NODDING DISEASE
It's like a second war, say affected families in northern Uganda. While
adults recover from the terrors of a 20 year-long civil war, more and more
children are suffering from a mysterious illness.
Experts are mystified by nodding disease. Initially it was considered to be
a form of epilepsy. It generally begins with a lack of concentration. Then
sufferers are affected by seizures, including repeated nodding, hence the
name. If the illness gets worse, children remain physically and mentally
impaired and eventually become so weak they are unable to eat. Nodding
disease is found exclusively among the children of refugee families.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), some 3,000 children have
been affected in Uganda, of whom several hundred have died.
<http://www.dw.de/hope-for-victims-of-nodding-disease-in-uganda/a-16484301>
People queue for WFP food aid in a refugee camp in northern Uganda .(ddp
images/AP Photo)
Queuing for food aid at a refugee camp in northern Uganda
Scientists around the world have been seeking the origins of the disease for
many years.
"We have ruled out more than three dozen possible causes," said Scott
Dowell, Director of Division of Global Disease Detection and Emergency
Response at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. He and his colleagues
have not yet succeeded in finding a succesful form of treatment.
Fresh information has now come from a new study carried out by the
University of Gulu in northern Uganda. It sees a link between the illness
and the consequences of the civil war in the region.
Poor conditions in refugee camps
Most of the affected children grew up in refugee camps. During the 20 years
of war between rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan
government, they became refugees in their own country. The government set up
refugee camps where hygiene was poor, there was not enough to eat and
inmates were permanently in fear of armed attack.
<http://www.dw.de/hope-for-victims-of-nodding-disease-in-uganda/a-16484301>
A young boy who hurt his eye after falling as a result of nodding syndrome
(XINHUA /LANDOV) .This young victim of nodding disease hurt his eye after a
fall
A few years ago the remaining camps were dissolved and the children, now
aged between five and 15, returned to their villages. The first cases of
illness soon followed. Families were hardy able to provide the help their
children needed when affected by seizures. Accidents were frequent, as
children injured themselves at open fires or fell into water and drowned.
Some families have up to five children who are affected.
Similar symptoms were observed in the early 1960s in children in a remote
mountain region of Tanzania. Since 2003 there have also been cases in what
is now South Sudan. However the outbreak of the disease in northern Uganda
is far worse.
The importance of local knowledge
The University of Gulu lies in the center of the affected region. An
inter-disciplinary group of researchers asked the local population what they
thought were the causes of the disease. One explanation was that people who
died in the war and were not buried in the traditional way brought
misfortune to the community.
<http://www.dw.de/hope-for-victims-of-nodding-disease-in-uganda/a-16484301>
Dr. Scott Dowell at a conference on nodding disease in Uganda's capital
Kampala. Photo:Stephen Wandera/AP/dapd)Scott Dowell was one of many experts
who attended a conference in Kampala earlier this year
More interesting for the scientists was the suggestion that food aid
distributed by the World Food Program (WFP) was the culprit. Medical staff
in the region point to chronic undernourishment of the refugees, toxic seeds
that were eaten out of desperation, and poisoning by chemical and biological
weapons. In addition, they believe that river water was contaminated by the
extraction of minerals.
For the researchers, these were promising new avenues to explore. They
carried out tests which revealed, for example, that the children have very
high levels of acids in their blood. Research team leader David Lagoro
Kitara told DW: "This might be a result of either chronic malnutrition or
they might have a metabolic problem."
Medication recommended by the WHO and the Ugandan Health Ministry has not
helped, Kitara said. But the Gulu researchers have come up with an
alternative. Generous helpings of milk and food supplements produced a swift
improvement in the children's condition which then stabilized. Based on this
initial success, the researchers are hopeful that they can now find an
effective cure.
DW.DE
Viele GruBe
Robukui
_____
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2012.0.2238 / Virus Database: 2639/5581 - Release Date: 02/04/13
--
UAH is devoted to matters of interest to Ugandans and Africans in general.
Individuals are responsible for whatever they post on this forum.To
unsubscribe from this group, send email to:
[email protected] or Abbey Semuwemba at:
[email protected].
_______________________________________________
Ugandanet mailing list
[email protected]
http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/ugandanet
UGANDANET is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/
All Archives can be found at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including
attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way.
---------------------------------------
