By Blessing Chinagorom
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said on 5th May, 2024, it was notified by the Chad International Health Regulation (IHR) national focal point (NFP) of an outbreak of hepatitis E in the eastern Ouaddai province of the country.
According to health agency on Wednesday, stating that the Ouaddai province has been heavily affected by an influx of refugees and returnees fleeing the Sudan conflict since April 2023, with a majority being women and children.
While reported that from 2 January to 28 April 2024, a total of 2092 suspected cases, including seven deaths (case fatality ratio (CFR) 0.3%), were reported from two health districts of the Ouaddai province, namely, Adré and Hadjer-Hadid.
WHO added that among the 2092 suspected cases, 103 (4.9%) were from host community and 1989 (95%) were reported from seven refugee camps and transit sites.. “Both rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to confirm the diagnosis on collected samples.
“The most affected age groups are 6 -17 years (1113 cases) and 18-59 years (500 cases), representing 53.2% and 23.9% of the suspected cases respectively”, the Health agency said.
WHO further revealed that a total of 27 pregnant women (1.3%) have been reported among the suspected cases, adding that the hepatitis E is often occurring in humanitarian settings such as in areas affected by conflict and in displacement sites.
“Limited access to safe drinking water and inadequate sanitation and hygiene increases the risk of hepatitis E virus outbreaks. The Public Health Emergency Operations Centre has been activated by the national health authorities”.
WHO said it has deployed a multidisciplinary team in Adré to support setting up response and response activities are ongoing with partners support, saying prevention is the most effective approach against hepatitis E.
It noted that provision of safe drinking water, good hygiene practices, quality standards for public water supplies and provision of safely managed sanitation services significantly decrease the risk of spread.
WHO assessed the risk to be high at the national level, moderate at the regional level and low at the global level.
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that is caused by a variety of infectious viruses and noninfectious agents leading to a range of health problems, some of which can be fatal.
There are five main strains of hepatitis virus, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E. While all hepatitis cause liver disease, they differ in important ways including modes of transmission, severity of the illness, geographical distribution and prevention methods.
In particular, types B and C lead to chronic disease in hundreds of millions of people and together are the most common cause of liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and viral hepatitis -related deaths. An estimated 354 million people worldwide live with hepatitis B or C, and for most, testing and treatment remain beyond reach.
Some types of hepatitis are preventable through vaccination. A WHO study found that an estimated 4.5 million premature deaths could be prevented in low- and middle-income countries by 2030 through vaccination, diagnostic tests, medicines and education campaigns.
WHO’s global hepatitis strategy, endorsed by all WHO Member States, aims to reduce new hepatitis infections by 90% and deaths by 65% between 2016 and 2030.