title: Notes from the field: hepatitis E outbreak among refugees from South Sudan - Gambella, Ethiopia, April 2014-January 2015.
abstract: In early April 2014, two South Sudanese refugees in the Gambella region of western Ethiopia experienced acute onset of jaundice, accompanied by fever. One patient was a pregnant woman aged 24 years evaluated at a routine prenatal clinic visit in Leitchour refugee camp. The second patient was a malnourished boy aged 1 year who resided in Tierkidi refugee camp. The boy died despite hospitalization. During the last 2 weeks of May, four more cases of acute jaundice syndrome (AJS), defined as yellow discoloration of the eyes, were detected in Leitchuor. By mid-June, an additional 50 AJS cases were reported across three large camps in the region, Kule, Leitchuor, and Tierkidi, with 45 (90%) of these cases reported in Leitchuor. Sera collected from a convenience sample of 21 AJS cases were sent to Addis Ababa and Nairobi for real-time polymerase chain reaction testing; 12 (57%) were positive for hepatitis E virus (HEV) RNA. By January 2015, a total of 1,117 suspected cases of hepatitis E meeting the case definition of AJS were reported among refugees in camps across Gambella.
authors.forename: Lauren B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Browne
authors.forename: Zeray
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Menkir
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kahi
authors.forename: Gidraf
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Maina
authors.forename: Solomon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Asnakew
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tubman
authors.forename: Hajir Z
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Elyas
authors.forename: Alemayehu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nigatu
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dak
authors.forename: U Aye
authors.initials: UA
authors.lastname: Maung
authors.forename: Jolene H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Nakao
authors.forename: Oleg
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bilukha
authors.forename: Cyrus
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shahpar
mesh_terms: D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D012036:Refugees / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013397:Sudan / Q000208:ethnology; D055815:Young Adult