Hepatitis E in Namibia

travelNAMIBIA schrieb: Laut dem Gesundheitsberater im Büro des Vizepräsidenten, Bernard Haufiku, werde man nun die Anstrengungen gegen die Krankheit weiter verstärken.

GOBABIS, 04 DEC (NAMPA) – The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) together with other stakeholders in Gobabis are working around the clock to curb the spreading of Hepatitis E in the region.
Since the first case in the Omaheke Region was reported in December 2017, about 137 other cases have been confirmed between March and November 2019.
Out of the notified cases, one death has been recorded.
Most of the reported cases in the region are from the Gobabis Constituency mainly from the Kanaan C informal settlement where 123 cases were reported. This is as a result of lack of clean drinking water, lack of sanitation facilities and open defecation in the settlement.
Responding to questions emailed to him by Nampa, MoHSS Omaheke Health Director Jeremiah Shikulo said regional and district health emergency committees have been activated and are in full operation leading and coordinating the outbreak response process with other line ministries.
“The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry has provided four water tanks to the community of Kanaan which the Gobabis Municipality are re-filling on a regular basis. Water purification tablets are also being distributed to households on a daily basis by community health workers,” Shikulo added.
The municipality has also given inhabitants of the Kanaan C informal settlement permission to build their own affordable temporary toilets.
Amongst other attempts to combat Hepatitis E in the region; campaigns on how to properly clean water containers, screening pregnant women for the virus and health education through community health workers have been conducted in Kanaan C.
Five cleaning campaigns have also been held at the informal settlement with another one set for 06 December.
Hepatitis E is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis E virus usually as a result of poor sanitation. The disease was declared an outbreak on 14 December 2017 by the Health Ministry in Windhoek.

Efforts to address Hepatitis E outbreak renewed
OPUWO, 18 AUG (NAMPA) – The Ministry of Health and Social Services, Embassy of Japan and World Health Organisation have renewed efforts to contain the Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) which was declared as an outbreak in December 2017.
To this end, the ‘Improving the national preparedness and response capacity to contain infectious disease outbreaks and other drought-related public health events in Namibia’ project was launched by the ministry, the embassy and WHO at the COVID-19 Communication Centre in Windhoek.
A statement availed to Nampa on Tuesday said the project, worth nearly N.dollars 4 million, will be implemented in the Khomas, Erongo, Omusati, Ohangwena, Kavango East and Kavango West regions by the WHO in partnership with the ministry for a duration of 12 months.
“The funding will strengthen the national and regional capacity, which are essential components required to implement effective response intervention,” the statement said.
It further noted that as of 28 June 2020, over 7 000 HEV cases have been reported, with the majority still from informal settlements in Windhoek (62 per cent) and Swakopmund (21 per cent). Sixty-five deaths have been reported so far.
During the launch, Minister of Health Dr Kalumbi Shangula stated that over the past three years, the ministry has been dealing with various disease outbreaks, making reference to the ongoing COVID-19 alongside HEV, as well as Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever.
“When we are faced with a pandemic of this magnitude, the workforce, financial, infrastructure and other resources can feel the strain and previous gains can easily be lost in the process,” he said.
The support will also go towards addressing drought-related health events, including severe acute malnutrition in response to the protracted drought of 2018/19.
Records from MoHSS reveal that for 11 months, from April 2018 to March 2019, 50 per cent and 11 per cent of the total children weighed were moderately and severely malnourished respectively.
Moreover, of the total 2 860 children admitted at health facilities due to severe acute malnutrition, 10 per cent died over the same period.
Also speaking at the launch was WHO’s Namibia Representative Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses, who emphasised the need to sustain investment in essential health services while attending to the urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his speech, Japan’s Ambassador to Namibia, Hideaki Harada stated that the government of Japan decided to support the Namibian government’s leadership and efforts in partnership with WHO, as a trusted partner of Namibia and Japan in health, in order to ensure that all members of the community can live a fulfilling life through strengthening the health system.