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Sample results for a mother to an 8 year-old breastfeeding baby who tested positive for coronavirus in March 2020, have surprisingly returned negative. Officials from Ministry of Health got confused on how to protect the mother from being infected by her baby.
The trouble arises from widespread information from experts about the contagious nature of the disease. Among the most alarming is Centers for Disease Control (CDC) of United States last week, which stated: “Coronavirus can spread between people interacting in close proximity such as speaking, coughing or sneezing.”
Dr Lutwama Julius, a virologist and deputy director at Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), however, says it is not just a matter of getting close to someone who is infected. He says it is about the disease getting into one’s respiratory system through dirty hands or when a patient sneezes against their face.
“There could have been chance that the mother had been observing all hygienic practices,” he said.
“If you touch the soft parts on your body such as the mouth, eyes and nose with your dirty hand, you can easily get infected,” he said.
Dr Lutwama, who is also the deputy director of UVRI, declares that there was chance that the child didn’t sneeze close against mother’s face.
Sneezing releases droplets, another a way through which the deadly virus is transmitted.
Dr Ekwaro Obuku, the former president of Uganda Medical Association, classifying Covid-19 among respiratory diseases, says children are not known to transmit respiratory diseases.
“There is no evidence that babies can transmit respiratory diseases, including the commonly known tuberculosis (TB),” he says. He also noted that the baby most likely contracted the deadly disease from an adult.
Dr Obuku says the baby could have also contracted the infection from the hospital. He says as cases start being reported from people with no travel history, government will need to step up its response.
“Is it true that the father had traveled to Kisumu? When we begin to see new patients of Covid-19 without a clear history of travel or contact with a patient of Covid-19, then this suggest there are many more victims in the community than we estimate and need to implement community wide strategies of prevention,” Dr Obuku added.
Scientists still learning more about Conavirus
Dr Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam, the World Health Organisation country representative, said scientists are still learning more about the disease.
“Every day, you will be getting something new as scientists continue studying the dynamics of the disease. But it is important to get information from authentic sources for the disease,” Dr Waldermaram said.
On 25 March 2020, Ministry of Health declared that 5 other people, including an eight-month-old baby from Iganga District, had tested positive for novel coronavirus. The baby’s mother was tested and her result returned negative.
Source: Monitor
Check also;
- President Museveni Announces 21 More Days Of Coronavirus Lockdown
- Corona Virus Patient Gives Birth To Healthy Baby Girl
- Uganda Records 4 More COVID-19 Cases Making Total Number Of 52
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