Jinja declares bilharzia outbreak on Lake Victoria islands

Health authorities in Jinja district have confirmed a bilharzia outbreak on Kisima I and Kisima II islands in Southern Division, Jinja city, after laboratory tests revealed a high infection rate among residents.

The islands lie on Lake Victoria along the border between Jinja and Buikwe districts. The outbreak was confirmed following a surveillance exercise conducted last week, during which health officials collected 50 random samples from residents who attended five community health sensitisation meetings.

According to district health authorities, dozens of residents reported symptoms commonly associated with bilharzia, including fever, headaches, muscle pain, persistent fatigue and blood in stool.

Laboratory analysis showed that 30 of the 50 samples tested positive for the disease, prompting health officials to officially declare an outbreak.

Jinja district health officer Fredrick Isabirye attributed the outbreak to poor sanitation practices on the islands, where many residents defecate along the shoreline while relying on the same water for bathing, cooking and washing.

He warned that bilharzia parasites can penetrate the body through the skin, exposing infected individuals to long-term organ damage and other chronic health complications if treatment is delayed.

Isabirye noted that health educators have previously conducted sensitisation campaigns on the islands, encouraging residents to adopt preventive measures. However, compliance with recommended health practices has remained low.

“We have also promoted routine deworming through local council leaders and village health teams, but the uptake has not been encouraging,” Isabirye said.

To contain the outbreak, Jinja City health authorities have placed an emergency order for bilharzia treatment drugs from the National Medical Stores (NMS) through the ministry of Health. The medicines are expected to arrive early next month.

Isabirye said the city would roll out a mass drug administration campaign and urged residents to cooperate with health workers during the exercise.

“We are going in for mass drug administration as a means of managing bilharzia in Kisima, and our humble request is that all community members embrace the health workers spearheading this campaign because this treatment is meant to help them live disease-free lives,” he said.

Meanwhile, some residents have attributed the low uptake of treatment and preventive interventions to long-standing myths and superstitions within the island communities.

Esther Namuddi, a resident of Kisima, said many people associate severe symptoms of bilharzia, particularly swollen stomachs, with witchcraft rather than disease.

As a result, some infected individuals seek help from traditional healers instead of visiting health facilities for diagnosis and treatment. Namuddi urged health authorities to engage traditional leaders and cultural influencers in future sensitisation campaigns to help dispel misconceptions and improve treatment uptake.

Another resident, Olga Achieng, said language barriers are also undermining health education efforts on the islands. According to Achieng, most sensitisation materials are produced in English and Lusoga, yet a significant number of residents communicate primarily in Kiswahili and other non-Bantu languages.

She proposed translating health messages into Kiswahili to improve understanding among the islands’ diverse population.

Achieng also called for sustained awareness campaigns through community radio stations, noting that the islands serve as a transit point for people frequently moving in and out of the area.

She said continuous public education would be critical in controlling the spread of bilharzia and ultimately eliminating the disease from the island communities.