Edward Kayima, 34, lives in Kikandwa subcounty, Kassanda district, one of the districts that was at center of the Ebola outbreak in Uganda. He is one of the Ebola survivors that have experienced eye issues, a post- Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) effect. It all started when his eyes turned red, followed by double vision in one eye. Within a month, Edward began having persistent headaches and blurry vision, which he initially ignored until he awoke one day to find that he had lost sight in that eye.
The National Ebola Survivors’ Program scheduled an ophthalmology appointment for Edward. Dr. Nanjubu Michael, a Baylor-Uganda Medical Officer who works with EVD survivors, says that redness and pain in the eyes are among the many conditions that EVD survivors report. A Mubende RRH ophthalmologist supporting the survivors’ clinic discovered that Edward had dead cells or ‘floaters’ in his eye that were impairing his vision. Fortunately, Edward sought medical attention at the National Ebola Survivors’ Program, also known as the Survivors’ Clinic, where we advised him to stop working because it could endanger his life and the lives of other road users, given that he is a truck driver,” Dr. Michael adds.
Today, Edward reports that the shades are no longer present. “I can see clearly now, and I’m back on the road,” he says. Edward is now able to travel weekly between Mubende and Busia, Kenya, a distance of approximately 344.3 kilometers.
Edward is among 16 Ebola survivors that have received eye treatment and corrective lenses to restore visual problems they got as a result of the Ebola virus disease.
