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In Brief: Upsurge in Hepatitis cases in Uganda's Kitgum District
Source: IRIN
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NAIROBI, 17 February 2009 (IRIN) - More cases of Hepatitis E have been reported in Kitgum District,
with 53 in the fourth week of 2009 against 28 the preceding week. The upsurge, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in a January Humanitarian update for Uganda,
could be attributed to relaxed control interventions, weak oversight and poor surveillance and case management at the health unit level. Some 9,395 cases and 144 deaths have been recorded since
November 2007. In Gulu and Amuru, a 30 percent increase in malaria incidence has been registered, while increased cases of dysentery were reported in Gulu Municipality and Nwoya County, due
largely to breaks in urban water supply and persistent scarcity of safe water after village sources dried up. The update also noted an outbreak of meningitis in the West Nile sub-region and
surrounding districts. First detected in Arua District at the end of 2008, the disease has spread, with cases reported in Adjumani, Moyo, Masindi and Hoima Districts. eo/mw© IRIN. All
rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.IRINnews.org
