NewsFour Pregnant Women Die Of Hepatitis In Borno IDPs Camp – MSF

Four Pregnant Women Die Of Hepatitis In Borno IDPs Camp – MSF

THEWILL APP ADS 2

SAN FRANCISCO, August 11, (THEWILL) – Medicine Sans Frontiers (MSF), otherwise known as Doctors Without Borders,on Friday, said that four pregnant women had died of Hepatitis (E) infection at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Ngala, Borno State.

The organisation also said that 400 other displaced persons, including women and children, were infected with the disease following the spread of the disease from the Niger Republic.

This was contained in a statement released in Maiduguri by Musa Yahaya, the MSF Field Communication Officer.

Glo

The organisation estimated that there were about 45,000 displaced persons at the Ngala camp, in Ngala Local Government Area of the state adding that the contagious disease spread quickly in the camp due to a combination of poor living conditions and flooding.

Hepatitis E or liver inflammation is a viral disease caused by infection with a virus called hepatitis Evirus. It is one of the five known human hepatitis viruses: A, B, C, D, and E.

The disease is caused by drinking contaminated water within the endemic areas or through the consumption of uncooked or under-cooked meat. Hepatitis outbreak can be epidemic or individual.

He described the situation in the camp as ‘worrisome’ and portended serious health threats.

“The situation in Ngala is very worrying. Heavy rain caused flooding in the camp and water submerged pathways, latrines and shelters,” the statement read.

“Whenever it rains, the whole camp gets covered with mud and dirty water. “This is a recipe for spreading bacteria and disease.”

Yahaya disclosed that over 400 cases of the disease were recorded and 170 patients treated while four expectant mothers died of the disease in the past two months.

He explained that the disease could be very dangerous in pregnancy and caused high rate of abortions, stillbirth, and premature delivery.

“It can also cause severe haemorrhages in mothers, both during childbirth and after delivery,” he added.

The communication officer said that the organisation encouraged the community to conduct waste clearance exercise to rid the camp of dirty water adding that the organisation had also distributed soap and chlorinated water supply to contain spread of the disease.

Yahaya stressed that urgent measures were necessary to enhance access to safe drinking water and promote good sanitation to contain the disease

According to him, the organisation had been working in Ngala camp since October 2016 and currently ran a hospital providing inpatient and outpatient services, antenatal care and malnutrition treatment.

Hepatitis E or liver inflammation is a viral disease caused by infection with a virus called hepatitis Evirus. It is one of the five known human hepatitis viruses: A, B, C, D, and E.

The disease is caused by drinking contaminated water within the endemic areas or through the consumption of uncooked or under-cooked meat. Hepatitis outbreak can be epidemic or individual.

About the Author

Homepage | Recent Posts

More like this
Related