Uganda Prisons Services, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, have established Mpox isolation center after three inmates reportedly contracted the disease.

Speaking to the media on Monday 14, 2024, during the weekly media briefing at Naguru, the Prisons spokesperson, Frank Baine, said that three cases of Mpox were discovered in the two prisons, registering two in Masindi and a single one in Nakasongola.

However, Baine noted that the patients are receiving treatment, advising the public to remain calm as the Prisons Services and the Ministry of Health continue monitoring and handling the situation.

“The situation is not alarming, but in case there is an escalation in the number of cases, we have established an isolation center in Bamunanika prison in Luweero district,” he said.

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“The coming of COVID-19 taught us how to manage those epidemic things so the situation is under control and there is no cause for alarm,” Baine added.

Nakasongola district is still on the spot as an Mpox epicenter and is facing a growing health crisis, with 21 confirmed cases of Mpox and nine additional suspected cases currently under investigation.

The Ministry of Health and district authorities banned prison visits after the number of cases hit 24 by October 9, 2024.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) have issued guidelines on how Mpox can be prevented from spreading to prisons, arguing that they should be on the lookout for community transmission of the pandemic since it is one of the means through which correctional facilities and detention centers are more likely to start seeing cases inside their walls.