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Infection control methods helped reduce hepatitis E outbreak in Kenya
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It had been more than a decade with no reported cases of hepatitis E in Somali refugees, but a 2012 outbreak at Dadaab, located in eastern Kenya near the Somalia border, held some important lessons for health care providers there.
Jamal A. Ahmed, MD, of the CDC, and colleagues recently published a report on the 339 patients involved in the outbreak. Ten of the patients died, including nine new mothers and one child.
In response, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the CDC stepped up disease tracking, patient care and preventive measures to minimize disease spread. The agencies also trained health care workers, increased community awareness, promoted good hygiene practices, improved access to latrines by constructing new latrines, and increased clean water access, especially in affected parts of the camp.
These measures reduced the number of patients, and as of February, no new cases have been reported, Ahmed and colleagues said. They concluded that future outbreaks might be minimized when vaccines and tests that can be conducted on site become available.
For more information:
Jamal A. Ahmed, MD, can be reached at the KEMRI Compound, Mbagathi Road, PO Box 606-00621 Nairobi, Kenya; email: JAhmed@ke.cdc.gov.
Disclosure: Ahmed reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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