Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda; an East African public health concern.

On August 21, 2022, healthcare authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in North Kivu Province, bringing the total to 15 outbreaks nationwide. On September 20, 2022, Uganda's authorities declared an outbreak of the Sudan strain of the Ebola virus following a confirmed a case in Mubende district. As of October 6, 2022, the reported numbers of cases were 63, with 29 deaths in Uganda and 1 case with 1 death in DRC, respectively. Ebola virus causes an acute and severely fatal illness, resulting in death within a very short time if left untreated. In addition, these outbreaks in DRC and Uganda pose a major threat to the health and socioeconomic well-being of the people of East Africa due to multiple cross-border activities. Adequate preparations need to be made by the healthcare authorities of the nations concerned; the government, healthcare workers, and the East-African community as a whole have important roles to play in the effective prevention and control of the spread of Ebola virus within and across their borders.

The use of chloroquine with or without adjuncts in the effective management of scorpion sting in the tropics: case reports.

Scorpion Sting is a common occurrence in the tropics caused by scorpion envenomation on unsuspecting victims. The sting causes severe pain and may be much more fatal depending on the age and size of the patient and the scorpion specie as well as other factors. Effective treatment is needed specially to alleviate pain. Many parts of the tropics have little or no data describing the use of Chloroquine in managing scorpion sting. These cases show how chloroquine can be used in without other drugs to achieve pain control. Case presentation: Patients presented with pain emanating from the right big toe and medial arch, respectively. The said pain had same manifestation and intensity in both patients and followed same course but radiated higher in up to the ipsilateral flank in the first patient but was limited to the ipsilateral iliac region of the second patient. Clinical discussion: The sites showed signs of inflammation with pain being most prominent. Diagnosis of scorpion envenomation were made based on the given history. The pain was eliminated using chloroquine given intramuscularly at the site of scorpion sting. Conclusion: Scorpion sting can occur at any time in the tropic and lidocaine only cannot alleviate pain. Chloroquine can be used in managing scorpion sting as it also has many other benefits that can make it more preferred to the other conventional approaches used.