Ethiopia: Unidentified Disease Afflicts 3,000 in Afar

[Ronan Kelly]

Inexplicable Disease Afflicts 3,000 in Afar




A mysterious disease, which has infected approximately 3,000 people in Afar Regional State in the past three months, has medical professionals puzzled. Blood samples were sent to Senegal after an investigation at the Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institution (EHNRI) failed to identify cultures grown here, according to sources in Afar.

People who are infected show symptoms including high fever, shivering, hallucinations, vomiting, and back pain, according to Hussein Ali, an official in the Regional Health Bureau.

“At first we thought it was malaria because of the symptoms, but blood tests done for it came back negative,” he told Fortune.

People living in three Weredas in the region - Asa’iyta, Dubti and Afambo - have been infected, residents and health professionals Fortune talked to over the phone confirmed. The population of the three Weredas is 140,998 out of 1.1 million in the whole region, according to the 2007 census done by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA).

So far patients with the symptoms are being treated with Doxycycline, an antibiotic, and Diclophenac, an anti inflammatory, according to a nurse possessing his Bachelors of Science (BSc), who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity nature of the issue.

“Although there is suspicion that the cause might be viral, there has not been a definitive diagnosis,” he told Fortune. “However, there has not been a single death reported so far.”

After blood samples tested negative for malaria, health professionals, the Regional Health Bureau and WHO had suspected that it might be Dengue Fever, a tropical disease that is transmitted by mosquitoes, according to Hussien.

“However, that notion has been abandoned as the symptoms do not include body rash, which is characteristics of Dengue Fever,” he told Fortune.

Health professionals at the Ministry of Health (MoH), WHO, and EHNRI declined comment on the issue.

However, WHO and the Regional Disease Prevention and Control Office are working collaboratively to identify and control the new unidentified disease, according to Hussein.

By HRUY TSEGAYE
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
http://addisfortune.com/Inexplicable Disease Afflicts 3000 in Afar.htm

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Ethiopia: Unidentified Disease Afflicts 3,000 in Afar

I wonder if they tested for chikungunya.

 

[alert]

Re: Ethiopia: Unidentified Disease Afflicts 3,000 in Afar

http://promedmail.org/pls/apex/f?p=..._BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,90688

Archive Number 20111014.3085
Published Date 14-OCT-2011
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Undiagnosed illness - Ethiopia: (AF), RFI

UNDIAGNOSED ILLNESS - ETHIOPIA: (AFAR), REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
***************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date: Mon 10 Oct 2011
Source: All Africa.com, Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa) report [edited]
http://allafrica.com/stories/201110110433.html


Inexplicable Disease Afflicts 3000 in Afar
------------------------------------------
A mysterious disease, which has infected approximately 3000 people in
Afar Regional State in the past 3 months, has medical professionals
puzzled. Blood samples were sent to Senegal after an investigation at
the Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institution (EHNRI) failed
to identify cultures grown here, according to sources in Afar.

People who are infected show symptoms including high fever, shivering,
hallucinations, vomiting, and back pain, according to Hussein Ali, an
official in the Regional Health Bureau. "At 1st we thought it was
malaria because of the symptoms, but blood tests done for it came back
negative," he told Fortune.

People living in 3 Weredas in the region -- Asa'iyta, Dubti and Afambo
-- have been infected, residents and health professionals Fortune
talked to over the phone confirmed. The population of the 3 Weredas is
140 998 out of 1.1 million in the whole region, according to the 2007
census done by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA).

So far patients with the symptoms are being treated with Doxycycline,
an antibiotic, and Diclophenac, an anti-inflammatory, according to a
nurse possessing his Bachelors of Science (BSc), who requested
anonymity due to the sensitivity nature of the issue. "Although there
is suspicion that the cause might be viral, there has not been a
definitive diagnosis," he told Fortune. "However, there has not been a
single death reported so far."

After blood samples tested negative for malaria, health professionals,
the Regional Health Bureau and WHO had suspected that it might be
dengue fever, a tropical disease that is transmitted by mosquitoes,
according to Hussein. "However, that notion has been abandoned as the
symptoms do not include body rash, which is characteristics of dengue
fever," he told Fortune.

Health professionals at the Ministry of Health (MoH), WHO, and EHNRI
declined comment on the issue.

However, the WHO and the Regional Disease Prevention and Control
Office are working collaboratively to identify and control the new
unidentified disease, according to Hussein.

[Byline: Lisa Schlein]

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-EAFR from HealthMap Alerts
<promed-eafr@promedmail.org>

[An undiagnosed illness has been reported in Afar region in Ethiopia
with patients presenting with fever, backache and hallucinations
suggestive of viral encephalitis given that bacterial cultures have
been negative to date. The differentials here would include: dengue
fever, West Nile fever, Japanese encephalitis, influenza virus,
enteroviruses (picornavirus) and other causes of viral encephalitis.
ProMED will appreciate additional information on the definitive
diagnosis.

A map showing the 9 provinces in Ethiopia can be seen at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regions_of_Ethiopia. The
HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of the country is available at
http://healthmap.org/r/01bp. - Mod.JFW]

[Lack of a reported rash tends to rule out Zika and dengue virus
infections, and no reports of severe arthralgias tends to eliminate
chikungunya virus infection, although the above report of symptoms
may not be complete, so these viruses cannot be eliminated completely
as possible pathogens in these cases. There were cases of an
undiagnosed illness in a neighboring area of Kenya in 2005, but unlike
the current report in Ethiopia, there were deaths (see ProMED-mail
archive number 20050823.2486). - Mod.TY]

 

[alert]

Re: Ethiopia: Unidentified Disease Afflicts 3,000 in Afar

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/conseils-aux-voyageurs_909/pays_12191/ethiopie_12309/index.html

Epidemic in the northeastern Afar region: an epidemic whose origin and exact nature remains undetermined at this time, was reported by the World Organization for Health in the Lake District and Gamar Afambo, located about 20 km southeast of the city of Assayta. It is best to avoid the area temporarily, pending the results of sampling and analysis conducted by the Ethiopian Ministry of Health. When traveling for imperative reasons in the southern Afar region, it is recommended to use personal protection measures against mosquitoes (sprays, creams, electric diffusers, screens, etc..) Transmission by the vector n 'is not excluded.