Hepatitis E kills 107 people in refugee camps
International organisations expressed grave concern” about the spread of the disease which started in the Jamam and Gendrassa refugee camps, Maban County in Upper Nile State and later affected two other camps, Yusuf Batil and Doro.
The United Nations World Health Organisation and Refugee Agency and the government told the press in Juba that 4,870 cases of the disease and 107 deaths have been registered since last July.
This is of grave humanitarian concern given that the camps host 170,000 Sudanese refugees from Blue Nile State alone.”
This is of grave humanitarian concern given that the camps host 170,000 Sudanese refugees from Blue Nile State alone in addition to host communities,” South Sudanese Health Minister Hussein Milly Michael said.
Yusuf Batil camp has witnessed a sharp spike in cases of the disease which is typically spread through contaminated food or water. In the last week of November, 575 cases were registered but this month there were almost six times as many cases a week. The number of deaths meanwhile increased from 14 at the end of November to 73 deaths.
Doro camp, the most populated of the four, has also reported more cases in the past few weeks. The cases continue rising each day, thus placing immense pressure on the available health services and resources,” said the health minister.
The World Health Organisation has described the situation as alarming, saying immediate action is needed.
A lot has been done to improve water and sanitation but still there are some gaps,” Abdinasir Abubakar, from the World Health Organisation in South Sudan, said.
In a bid to monitor the disease, the ministry and agencies dispatched teams to the camps. They aim to halt rapid spread of the disease. Officials linked the Hepatitis outbreak to contaminated water supply and poor environmental hygiene.
The experts said Hepatitis E is characterised by fever, heart burn, stomach pain, nausea and vomiting, general body pain and weakness, loss of appetite, body itching, dark and concentrated urine and yellowing of the eyes. The infection is most common in young adults aged between 15-40 years.
A lot has been done to improve water and sanitation but still there are some gaps.”
Although children are often affected, the disease causes a very mild illness without jaundice that can even go unnoticed. Pregnant women, however, are at greater risk of complications and death.
Experts urged people to wash their hands clean before serving and eating food, and after using the toilet. They should also drink clean water.
Adding to the pressure on the camps, humanitarian aid organisations warned of increased numbers of refugees arriving in South Sudan as a result of violent clashes between the Sudanese government and rebel groups in Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan states.
The number of Sudanese refugees in South Sudan is estimated to climb to 350,000 people, UN Chief for Humanitarian Coordination in South Sudan Toby Lanzer said.
Inadequate basic services like food and shelter remain the key challenges, he said. Late last year, the aid agencies launched an appeal to raise 1.2billion US Dollars to improve the humanitarian situation in South Sudan.
