Four people have. More than 10 others are in the hospital getting treatment after getting sick from eating beef served at a burial ceremony in Rakai District. Police and health officials said this on Wednesday. The people got sick from meat taken from a bull that was killed during the burial of a man called Umar. Three of the people who died have been named. They are Charles Bangirana from Kyakabiikwa Village. Also named are Jennifer Ntejerize and Christmas Behekanira, both from Mudaala Village in Lwamaggwa Sub-county, Rakai District. The fourth person who died has not been identified yet. Their bodies were sent to Lyantonde Hospital to be checked by doctors.
A police officer from Masaka Region named SP Twaha Kasirye said early findings suggest the sickness might be from eating the meat. He said almost everyone who ate from the cow got sick. He also said some people are using home remedies to treat the illness.
Than 10 people are in Lyantonde General Hospital. Police and health workers have taken samples from the dead and from the places where the illness happened. They are doing tests to find out what caused the sickness. Officials are thinking this is a food poisoning outbreak. Anthrax is being checked as a cause.
Anthrax is an illness that happens when people touch or eat meat from animals that are sick. Even though the test results are not in yet officials said the area has had anthrax before. There was an outbreak in Kyotera District in 2024 that killed many people.
A team of health and police workers from Rakai and Lyantonde districts is working together. They are trying to find out how many people got sick stop the sickness from spreading and stop people from dying. SP Twaha Kasirye said the test results are very important before they can say what caused the deaths. He said they took samples to check what caused the deaths. At this time they can’t say for sure what happened until the tests are done.
The people in charge are worried that some people who ate the beef are trying to treat themselves of going to a hospital. Police are asking anyone who ate the beef and got sick with things like fever feeling sick throwing up having diarrhea or having skin problems to go to a hospital away.
This event has made people more careful in the Masaka area, where there have been animal diseases. Foot and Mouth Disease has already made some districts stop selling cows. Health workers are watching the people who got sick closely while the tests go on.
Local leaders and health workers are asking people to stay calm and help with the investigation. People have been told not to eat meat from animals that die suddenly or look sick. They are also being asked to check animals before they are killed for events, like burials.
More news will come when the tests and the checks are done.