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Article History

Received: 17 September 2018

Accepted: 26 April 2019

First Online: 11 June 2019

Ethics approval and consent to participate

: Ministry of Health of Uganda gave the directive and approval to investigate this outbreak and so the need for ethical approval was waived by the Institutional Review Board of Makerere University School of Public Health. In agreement with the International Guidelines for Ethical Review of Epidemiological Studies by the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (1991), the Office of the Associate Director for Science, CDC/Uganda, determined that this activity was not human subjects research and its primary intent was public health practice or a disease control activity (specifically, epidemic or endemic disease control activity). Verbal informed consent was obtained from the participants before the start of each interview. Written consent could not be obtained because it was impractical as most of the participants were illiterate. However, the purpose and nature of the investigation were explained to all participants. Participants were also informed that their involvement was entirely voluntary and their refusal to answer any or all of the questions would not result in any negative consequences. Participants identified as patients were referred for free treatment at the Cholera Treatment Centre at Muyembe Health Centre IV. To protect participants’ confidentiality, personal information were de-identified during data analysis, and the interview forms were locked up.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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