Namibia: Hepatitis E outbreak in Swakop



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By Adam Hartman

The health directorate confirmed yesterday four cases of hepatitis E in the informal settlement of Swakopmund in the DRC.

In a letter to the Governor of Erongo, Cleophas Mutjavikua, Chief Medical Director of Health – Dr. Amir Shaker said that 32 more cases are being tested

"The result is outstanding because the survey takes two weeks in South Africa, "he writes.

According to Shaker, measures are already in place to contain the spread of the disease.

Mutjavikua informed mayors of all the cities in the region of the epidemic, that his office received with "a deep dismay".

Most cases come from the DRC's regulations.

After an inquiry, Minister of Health Bernard Haufiku asked the Namibian to speak directly to Shaker and to share his comments.

Shaker told The Namibian that suspicious cases came from Namibia. the suburbs of Mondesa too.

Shaker added that the four patients were not hospitalized, but are observed in case the symptoms become dangerous, mainly when they include bleeding, which could be fatal.

This is the first time that an epidemic has been reported in Erongo since the beginning of the outbreak in Windhoek last December and has also been detected in the northern regions .

Fifteen people have died since December, including 14 in Windhoek.

The first cases of hepatitis E were recorded in the residential neighborhoods of Windhoek, Havana, Goreangab, Hakahana, Greenwell Matongo and Ombili.

Nearly 500 cases were recorded in the informal neighborhoods of the city. The ministry has in the past, in collaboration with the World Health Organization and UNICEF, urged anyone suspicious of an infection with the hepatitis E virus and exhibiting symptoms such as acute jaundice. , dark urine, anorexia, malaise, extreme fatigue and body sensibility.

Shaker said communities would be informed that infection control can be done through healthy living, indicating that symptoms usually appear a week after the infection, and it can take about a week to 10 days. before the symptoms disappear. Mutjavikua said his office was informed Sunday of confirmed cases of hepatitis E.

"The region is in a state of alert since the disease was identified in the north, and because something has arrived, it can be transferred anywhere and at any time. "We were cautious as to how it was contained in the north, or how it could come here."

The President of the Regional Council Erongo, Hafeni Ndemula, declined to comment because he had not been informed by the director of health

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