Cases of suspected Hepatitis E on rise in Darfur - WHO

The number of reported cases of suspected Hepatitis E in western Sudan's strife-torn region of Darfur has risen to 6,861, including 87 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest update on the outbreak issued on Tuesday. According to WHO, the total number of reported cases per week had continued to increase, with West Darfur State still the most affected area. The disease was first reported in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur in May. Health workers from Sudan's Health Ministry, International Committee of the Red Cross, Médecins du Monde-France, Médecins sans Frontières-Holland, Oxfam, UN Children's Fund and UN Joint Logistics Centre have been working with WHO to step up mass hygiene education programmes, increase the availability of soap, dig new wells, and ensure effective chlorination of water bladders and wells. South Darfur State had the poorest water and sanitation indicators, according to WHO. The agency said it was working with the water and environmental sanitation department of the Sudanese government and the state Ministry of Health to develop an emergency environmental health plan for IDP camps in South Darfur. Existing resources remained insufficient to cover the basic water and sanitation needs of the displaced populations in Darfur, WHO added. Additional efforts were still needed to reduce the number of new Hepatitis E infections, and prevent the spread of other waterborne diseases, it said. Hepatitis E is a waterborne disease usually transmitted through water that is contaminated with faeces. It kills five percent of those infected, and is especially dangerous to pregnant women. According to WHO, refugees and displaced people living in overcrowded camps are at the highest risk of infection. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) warned after the outbreak was first reported that unless immediate action was taken to stem the disease in Darfur, it could spread quickly among the hundreds of thousands of IDPs living in camps with poor sanitation. It said while Hepatitis E usually had a fatality rate of one to four percent, the virus was several times more lethal when it infected pregnant women. In one camp where the virus had been detected in West Darfur, UNFPA said, six of the eight people who died were pregnant women.