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Kenya is a highly disease prone region with various diseases like malaria, yellow fever, cholera, Hepatitis E along with A, B C etc being a distinctive feature of the country. Hepatitis E is a commonly found and highly contactable disease in Kenya.
Hepatitis E is a water borne disease caused by the Hepatitis E virus. The disease is contracted through contaminated drinking water. There is no insect involved in the contamination of Hepatitis E. Though suspected, it has not yet been proved that domestic animals like pigs may be the source of the Hepatitis E virus.
The clinical characteristics of Hepatitis E are the same as Hepatitis A. Like Hepatitis A , Hepatitis E has no chronic period of illness. The most commonly affected people are the young adults or the adolescents. But a significant difference between Hepatitis E and Hepatitis A can be found in pregnant women. During the third month of pregnancy Hepatitis E takes a much more severe turn than Hepatitis A leading to a mortality rate of 20%.
The symptoms of Hepatitis E are jaundice, jaundice, anorexia, hepatomegaly, abdominal pain and tenderness, nausea and vomiting, and fever. Hepatitis E is a self-limiting disease which is generally followed by recovery.
Though Hepatitis E has a worldwide distribution, it is mostly prevalent in countries with poor hygienic conditions. Thus Kenya falls in the list of the countries affected by the Hepatitis E virus. There is no treatment available but the best cure is prevention and precaution. Precautionary measures should be followed like avoiding consumption of contaminated food and water.
A study has been carried out in Kenya while probing the outbreak of hepatitis E among the refugees. but many aspects of the disease still remains a mystery.
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