2010-02-26 21:09:31 - Epidemic Hazard - Uganda EDIS CODE: EH-20100226-25090-UGA
Date & Time: 2010-02-26 21:09:31 [UTC]
Area: Uganda, , Moroto District, Number of Injured person(s): 28
Not confirmed information! Description: Atleast 28 people have been admitted to Moroto Government Hospital following an outbreak of Hepatitis E, a contagious viral disease. The district Health inspector, Mr Martin Eyura, said investigations carried out by the district health workers in Moroto Municipality confirmed that the disease broke out in four suburbs of Police Barracks, Singila, Nakapelimon, Junior Quarters and Matany Trading Centre outside the municipality a month ago before spreading to other areas. “We heard it had broken out in Kaabong District but you know people here are careless. They defecate anywhere, leaving the human waste to become a breeding place for the disease. There are nine cases from Singila, seven from Nakapelimon, five from Junior Quarters and another seven from Matany Trading Centre admitted at Moroto Government Hospital and the disease seems to be spreading fast,” the district health inspector, Martin Eyura, said. Reports at the hospital confirm that 28 people who have been admitted to the health unit, have been tested and discovered to have Hepatitis E. The nurses at the hospital who preferred anonymity, said that eight cases had first been registered but the numbers have since increased to 28. District leaders and health workers in Kaabong managed to fight the diseases with good hygiene and sanitation unlike in Moroto where people are not using pit-latrines, including market vendors who use a seasonal river, Nangololo in Moroto Municipality to ease themselves. Mr Eyura also attributed the surge in Hepatitis E cases to poor sanitation. “The district health team is moving door to door, surveilling and sensitising locals about the disease to help bring down the number of victims. Hepatitis E is a viral disease that effects the liver and if it is not treated well, it kills very fast,” he said, adding that most patients are complaining of headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, loss of apetite, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, jaundice, heartburn, dark urine and pain, which are all symptoms of the disease. Hepatitis E is a limiting disease that may occur after natural disasters because of consumption of faecal-contaminated water or food. It is caused by infection with the Hepatitis E virus, a non-enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus.
The name of Hazard: Hepatitis E
Species: Human
Status: Confirmed
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