Already, three victims, including the farther of the family, have been admitted at Nkomolo Health Centre in Namanyere, Rukwa region. According to Nkasi District Executive Director (DED) Julius Kiondo, the district council has already disbursed 500,000/- to cover medical, food and cloth expenses for the three patients. Admitted at Nkomolo Health Centre are 13-year old Peter Kazumba and his younger brother Linus Kazumba and their biological father Martin Kazumba (36) all from Nkata area in Kate Ward in the district. However, the young Peter who is not schooling has suffered from the skin infection for over five years without treatment while the father has suffered for seven years as the infections spread to all eight family members, including the last borne baby, aged one year. The centre’s Medical Assistant Officer who doubles as dermatology and venereology officer, Dr Hilali Ntahokaja Bonye told the ‘Daily News’ over the phone from Namanyere Town yesterday that the highly contagious Norwegian Scabies has infected all eight members of the family. He said the father of the family has been infected with combination of skin diseases clinically known as Norwegian scabies and Erythrodema Secondary II, atotic dermatitis which is an inherited disease. “This skin disease, clinically known as Norwegian scabies, because it was first diagnosed in Norway, infects through physical contacts, including sharing beds and clothes but is manageable and curable,” said Dr Bonye. He said the three patients from one family were first admitted at the District Designated Hospital (DDH) at Namanyere for skin treatment but later transferred to Nkomolo health centre as the only health facility in the region with skin specialists. Lack of laboratory and medicines for treatment of skin infections are some of the critical challenges that the facility faces, said Dr Bonye. “This health facility has laboratory equipment but they are in poor state...medicines to treat skin infections is another problem we face here,” said the medic, hinting that he is treating the patients using borrowed drugs from private drug stores. He said skin patients need many clothes to change frequently but due to financial constraints, the admitted patients lacked enough clothes.