Uganda probes unidentified illness as 12 die

Ugandan health authorities are investigating an unidentified disease outbreak that has killed at least 12 people in a span of two weeks in Kyotera district in the central region.

Affected patients had rashes on the skin which kept widening, before dying in a matter of days. Some had swollen limbs.

Uganda’s Ministry of Health has collected fresh skin samples from one of the patients who died at a local general hospital last week.

Its findings are yet to be shared with the public.

Local district health officials say some patients were seeking treatment from traditional healers instead of going to health facilities.

They said it had become difficult to prevent some of the patients from doing so since the disease was unknown.

This article originally appeared on BBC News.

Image via Nairobi News.