In a press release issued on Tuesday, NPHI Acting Executive Director Dr Ader Macar Achiek said the patient, a farmer from Okaba village in Gulumbi Payam, had recently travelled to Ariwara in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), about two weeks before developing symptoms.
The patient first developed fever, headache, fatigue, chest pain and joint pain on October 24. He experienced nose bleeding three days later and developed a generalised body rash on October 29 while receiving treatment at an isolation unit.
Two blood samples tested negative for Ebola before further laboratory testing confirmed the yellow fever virus. The patient later died.
“The two separate samples tested negative for Ebola. Further testing of the two samples using Real Time – Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) to find what else could have caused the illness confirmed Yellow Fever Virus,” Achiek said.
The NPHI, working with the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and other health partners, has activated emergency response measures to investigate the case and contain possible transmission.
A multidisciplinary team has been dispatched to Morobo to conduct active case searches, trace contacts and review health facility records for other people who may have presented with similar symptoms in recent weeks.
The team will also collect mosquito samples to establish whether the virus is circulating among mosquito populations and assess community knowledge and practices to guide possible targeted vaccination campaigns.
Authorities are also strengthening cross-border surveillance and coordination with health officials in neighbouring areas of the DRC.
Yellow fever is transmitted through the bites of infected mosquitoes. Severe cases can cause jaundice, dark urine and unusual bleeding.
Achiek urged residents of Morobo County and the wider public to remain vigilant and take preventive measures against mosquito bites.
The public should “use mosquito nets, eliminate breeding sites, and immediately report any individuals presenting with fever, yellowing of the eyes (jaundice), passing of tea-coloured/dark urine or unusual bleeding to the nearest health facility,” he said.
Suspected cases can also be reported through the national toll-free health hotline 6666.
